Crimson Wing
by Shadow Strabi-star22
Summary: In a world where a nuclear meltdown from 20 years ago has turned Tokyo into the largest ghost town, humanity is on the verge of going into another war. Danger zones filled with high-levels of radiation forbids anyone from entering except for the specialized few but if you thought the Coppelions were the only beings able to resist radioactive activity, you are sadly mistaken.
1. Chapter 1: Puppet

**A/N**: A new story for a new year :D _Crimson Wing_ begins now.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Puppets**

_Dear Diary, _

_ It seems like something tragic has happened back in the year 2016...the year...what year is it now? 2036? Yeah that seems to be about right. It has been 20 years since that meltdown...according to the internet. Society has been thrown into turmoil, there hasn't been much of a purpose in staying here. Humanity has sunk down to the lowest of the low. I believe there's someone out there who would come and save us...someday. Now as I look out the window...casualties and destruction meets the eye. But you know, there's another casualty that is taking the world by storm...radioactive contamination that brought the living dead...back to life. Ha! I'm just exaggerating, there's no such thing as people coming back to life, that's just something to keep people engaged in the plot of a story. The entire city just turned into a giant ghost town with little signs of life..._

_ Everyday there's occasional gun shoots that signal a struggle for survival but in all honesty...no one can live in Tokyo now. There are no antidotes...there are no cures for this radiation epidemic. There are miracles but you have to fight for them...believe in them. Who knows, maybe some day they will become reality and save us from the darkness that cover the world like a blanket...but for right now we have to fend for ourselves and hope for the best... _

"Oi Kaz!" The pencil in my hand stopped putting graphite on paper as I turned my head to see my best friend Kaige standing near the doorway, a cigarette clenched between her teeth. She had long black hair with a hint of red highlights that reached the middle of her back while her eyes were sea green. She had goggles resting lopsided on her head and bandages wrapped around her biceps; a scar from a previous scrummage ran down her abdomen like a cross. Wearing only a tank-top, grey baggy pants and black combat boots she may look like a punk but she's actually a sweetheart once you get to know her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm writing a new entry in this diary, you know keeping track of our day to day activities." I smiled at her. I was wearing a plaid shirt with cargo shorts that were a bit too big so Kaige found a belt for me. My platinum blond hair came down to my shoulders, layered and spiked at the tips while my eyes were Caribbean aqua. Instead of boots I opted for red Vans with black laces that I found in a half-demolished shoe store. Kaige and I, we've known each other since we were young so she almost always calls me by my pet name Kaz instead of the long version Kaziah.

"Again? No one is gonna read it anyways." She sighed and walked over to where I was, ruffling my hair much to my disgust with a hand. "Sometimes I worry that you just love to waste time on all the little matters. It's starting to become a bad habit."

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't like it when you ruin my hair." I pouted and tried to fix the mess that she made. "Besides you never know when someone will come across it and would like to know how the world was before the nuclear disaster."

"Yeah yeah...whatever you say." She sighed with a smile before placing a fur hat on top of my head. It was a gift from my mother back when she was still alive. "Let's go see what we can find today. With any luck hopefully it'll be food that hasn't been touched by those dead people yet." She paused with a bored look on her face. "...sorry they aren't dead yet, they're just delirious and lost their minds due to the toxins. But most of them are gone anyway, all that are left are rotten corpses."

"Yup! I'm starving!" I grinned and shut my notebook closed, placing it on a worn-out table. Together we stepped out of the room and out the door, into the hazardous environment. Our eyes narrowed and our noses scrunched up at the scent of radioactivity and death as it blew with the wind. Our home was about 25 km north of Tokyo, the place where everything started.

"Are you ready?" Kaige asked as she lowered her goggles and tossed the cigarette butt to the ground, making sure to stomp out the remaining embers with her combat boots.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I held onto my hat as we jumped, the wind whistling past our ears. If there's something you might not have realized, we have lived in this hellhole for quite some time...but the radiation has messed with our DNA and mutated us into something unhuman...well actually Kaige is still human but she now has some sort of special ability. We were a different breed of specimen...more specifically our cells function beyond the knowledge and comprehension of a normal human being. We thought we were the only ones capable with this gift but...that's where we were wrong, there were others out there that were similar to us.

* * *

_Outskirts of Tokyo..._

A girl walked casually down the dirt path, her school bag swung lazily over her shoulders. She looks like a normal high school girl, with a white shirt and checkered skirt; a striped tie hung loosely under her collar as her sleek shoulder-length hair danced along with the wind. She also had a plaid jacket that was tied around her waist.

"IBARA-SENPAI!" A whiny voice cried out, causing the girl to halt in her tracks. She looked behind her to see her juniors lagging behind and out of breath. "Ibara-senpai, wait a minute! You're walking too fast..."

"It's you two who are too slow, you fool." Ibara said as they stopped in front of her, winded and catching their breaths from the long journey.

"But...we haven't arrived there yet. I can't take any more of this..." Aoi complained.

"Same with me..." Taeko stated, wiping the sweat off her brow and adjusted her glasses.

"Can you see that?" Ibara asked and pointed with her finger at a fallen telephone pole. On it hung a rusty sign with almost faded-out words but they were still readable.

"Tama-Town...Tokyo City!? That means..." The other two girls looked at each other before jumping up and down with glee. "Hurray! We've finally arrived in Tokyo!" Ibara smiled at them before feeling her phone vibrating in her pocket. Taking it out and flipping up the screen she noticed that the caller was someone important.

"Hello, Vice-Principal?" She asked as she placed her phone to her ear.

"Naruse..." The vice-principal's voice spoke through the device. "Where are you now?"

"We've just entered Tama-Town now." She answered casually but on the inside she was cautious; being near the epicenter of where everything started was a little intimidating, she didn't know what to expect.

"Okay...What do you see around you?"

"Fields, a school, apartments, a hospital, a pond, steel tower." Ibara listed off as she looked at the scenery around her, "Cumulonimbus's, trees, an electric pole, a scarecrow, and a Tokyo electric board."

"Do you see any people near you?"

"No." was her response. "Not even one. There's birds though." She commented as Aoi pointed it out to them with much enthusiasm.

"Maybe a pigeon..." Taeko guessed as the three of them stared at the animal as if flew overhead.

"Do as the plan says and go ahead into the city central." The vice-principal continued. "Hereafter you won't be able to use your phone, so use your radio, instead."

"Understood." Ibara acknowledged and closed her phone. "Let's go, Aoi, Taeko."

"But Senpai..." Aoi pouted lightly.

"From here on is..." Taeko added, looking a little uncomfortable at the idea.

"Don't worry." Ibara smiled, "Just think of this as a school excursion. Let's go, we shall depart for Tokyo sightseeing!" Aoi and Taeko shared a look before following their leader. As they entered the city, there were obvious signs that it turned into a ghost town; demolished shops as well as barren apartments with tumble weeds and other debris littered the streets.

"Senpai, it looks like the traffic light is broken..." Aoi pointed out.

"Of course it is. The electricity was cut a very long time ago." Ibara commented as she looked at a map of the city.

"So...where are we headed to now? Let's find a place to sleep quickly." Aoi commented as she lazily rested against her bag with a huff.

"First we'll cross Tama river. It's ahead of this road- No. 18." Ibara said as she glanced up to look for an indication which street they were on.

"You're not telling me to keep walking? Across this huge town?" Aoi released a huge sigh.

"Yep. You've learned it in our class." Her senior replied, "'We can't know the town's situation from air that clear...that's why someone had to actually go and investigate it,' or so the principal stated..."

"But that doesn't mean we have to make our way into this dangerous area. Does it?" Aoi asked as she shouldered her bag. "We aren't dolls..that only do as said."

"I know that." Ibara said.

"But really, are there any...survivors...?" Aoi looked around before looking up. "Hey! What's that?" The three of them looked up just in time to see a shadow fly overhead. It looked like a bird but it was much, much bigger...probably a dragon. "Is it a dragon?" _That's preposterous,_ she thought, _dragons are no longer living on this earth. Must be my imagination._

"I don't know but keep you eyes peeled and your guard up. Our job to search and find the survivors." Ibara replied as they continued their investigation. The train in the Tagayama station wasn't moving due to the electrical outage so they continued to move on foot. They looked at the shops that still remained standing even in ruins, spotting newspapers from 20 years that were already eroding away thanks to the radiation. Headlines and articles depicting pictures of people fleeing from the areas could only convey the horror that the citizens felt when they first encountered the radioactive waves.

"We received a radio signal just now." The principal's voice suddenly came out of the radio as they continued searching. "It's an SOS and it sounded urgent...something about a winged beast. It was transmitted from the area within Tamanagayama and Sekido. Go somewhere open and put a smoke pot there. That way he'll come to you."

"Understood." Ibara spoke then thought for a minute. "Um VP?"

"What is it Naruse?" He asked her.

"Aoi spotted what looked like a dragon flying in the sky earlier today. Do you have any information regarding that?" The radio was quiet for about a minute before the man's voice spoke.

"...I don't know what to tell you but your top priority as the Medical Unit is the survivors."

"Then what should we do if we encounter that beast?"

"You only have to find him. Nothing else matters." The vice principal's voice was firm in his order. "If you do meet the monster, do what must be done."

"Rodger." Ibara said and put the radio away. "Let's get going Aoi, Taeko. We have to find that survivor quick!" They took off, weaving in between the desolated stores to find an exit. The seemingly long maze irritated Aoi and she started to complain...a lot.

"AAAAARGH! How long is this place?! I want to eat a parfait, I want to have a bath, and I want to lie down and read a manga!" She was shouting as they finally manage to break through the maze and out into the open.

"You're noisy..." Ibara said with annoyance. Suddenly she was shoved out of the way as Aoi ran over and looked over the bridge.

"Look Ibara! This is so amazing! A large river!" She squealed with happiness, her energy rejuvenated at the sight of the river below her. "Can we rest here? Oh can we please? It's already noon."

"Ahhh, this wind feels great." Taeko smiled as the breeze played with their hair.

"Well, okay...this seems to be a great place for the helicopter to land..." Ibara thought before nodding for approval. After determining the appropriate distance from their camp, she set a smoke signal. "Alright! This can be seen from even 10km. The survivors will be here shortly." She turned to see that the others had set up a picnic and had proceeded to stuff food in their mouths.

"I didn't know you brought this many..." Taeko was saying as Aoi unraveled another box full of goodies.

"This is almost like hiking..." Smirking, Ibara just rolled up her sleeve and injected some fluids into her veins via a needle. "Well of course, I don't mind if you eat those...What...?" She asked when they looked at her in shock, the onigiri falling out of Aoi's hand. "This is lunch, of course. I've just gave myself a balance nutrient! It's much easier this way...Aoi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Aoi replied quickly before stuffing her face with food. "I'm really lucky to be born as a human..." Taeko and Ibara looked at each other with sad expressions, the needle held stiffly in the leader's hand.

"Aoi, I'm sorry." Ibara apologized, realizing how much her companion strongly disliked the idea of just doping the nutrients into the body and opted to just stuff real food down her throat like a real person. "I understand how you feel but the three of us are..."

"Did you hear that?" Taeko suddenly turned her head to the side with confusion,"It sounded like a survivor." The other two fell silent before the sound of someone yelling for help reached their ears.

"Yeah, and he sounds like he's in trouble!" Ibara quickly placed a loaded magazine of bullets into her gun. "I'm going down to check it out, you two stay here and be on the lookout."

"Ah! Wait Ibara! The readings are off the charts!" The other two yelled as their leader dashed off.

* * *

_In the field..._

"S-s-stay away!" The man yelped as I landed, kicking some dust up with my talons as my wings folded nicely against my sides.

"Damn, it looks like another dead-weight." Kaige commented as she hopped off. "I thought I told you to ignore these kinds of trash Kaz. C'mon we have to look for actual food. I hate it when we act like vultures."

"But this guy's probably hurt or in distress." I protested, reverting back into my human form and gave her a pout. "We can't just leave him here to die."

"Kaz, listen to me." She placed her arms on my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. "This entire world is like a giant game, a giant board game. I suspect the government might have a hand in toying with the lives of their citizens since the beginning. We are the pieces and the rule is simple: Survive. If we can't do that than what kind of hope does this guy have?"

"He has hope." A voice said and we looked up to see a girl standing with a gun pointed at us. "Who are you two? Are you guys survivors as well?"

"Survivors?" Kaige and I looked at each other with confused looks on our faces before turning to face her. "There hasn't been a single live person that we've met since 20 years. You're actually the first person we've met that hasn't gone nuts."

"But you two are...resistant to the radiation." The girl lowered her gun slightly. "The level is quite high and yet you two are standing there like it's nothing. Are you...like me?"

"What do you mean like you?" Kaige asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Are you saying we aren't human? Because we kind of figured that out by ourselves..."

"Y-y-you are all monsters!" The man freaked out, holding his gun up but his hands were trembling. "How can you survive without a hazmat suit?! The radiation level is too high for a human to withstand."

"Tch, already putting a derogatory label on us and we just met." Kaige turned to give him her full attention. "Hey man, keep it down would you? This is a conversation between the three of us...if you can't do that," She held up her hand, what looked like molten lava started spewing from the tips of her nails and ran down her hand. When it dripped to the ground, there was a sizzling noise and the liquid burned easily burned a small hole in the dirt. "I'll burn you to a crisp."

"AIEEE!" He shrieked and pulled the trigger out of fear. Because his hands were shaking the shot went off its intended path and hit Kaige in the shoulder, causing her to fall back with a yelp.

"You bastard! What the hell?!"

"Kaige!" I knelt beside her, watching as she held her shoulder, the blood running through her fingers. The wound wasn't too bad but if we flew back home it could get infected in a matter of minutes and that's fatal.

"I'm gonna pay that guy back!" She conjured a fireball with her hand and sent it flying. The man scrambled back as the ball whizzed past his head, shaking with fear. "Stay still you little fucker!"

"Ibara!" Another girl shouted as she and a girl with glasses hurried to the scene, "Hurry up! Before that girl turns him into BBQ!"

"Understood!" The girl named Ibara replied and quickly injected the antidote into the man's arm while dodging a fireball that came too close for comfort. Soon some bubbly substance appeared and the man started to relax, the tension in his body gone and he lowered his gun.

"You're an angel." He told her, tears flowing out of his eyes.

"Damn this hurts..." Kaige had calmed down when she noticed the change in the man's behavior and tried to nurse her shoulder. "I know this is gonna get infected by the time I get back home.."

"Please, allow me." She looked up to see a girl offering her help, setting down a medical bag. I stepped back as she started to treat my friend's shoulder. Kaige's eyes scrunched up in pain as the girl removed the bullet head with some kind of instrument. After applying gauze on the wound and wrapping it with bandages, the glasses girl stood back with a smile. "There you go, all patched up."

"...thanks." Kaige said as she tested out her shoulder by rotating her arm gently. "Let's go Kaz."

"Yes!" I chirped and fell in beside her, leaning my head against her arm with a smile. She chuckled and rubbed my head affectionately.

"Ah wait!" Ibara turned to us after giving the man a quick check-up to make sure he was okay. "Why don't you two...join up with us?"

"Join up...with you?" Kaige repeated, the gears in her mind turning as she thought about it. "I guess that would be nice to have company besides the two of us."

"There's only two of you? Where are your parents?" Before Kaige could replied the sound of a helicopter descending caught our attention. We all turned to see it hover over the open area on the bridge where the signal from the smoke pot was located. Once it touched down, the door opened up and a man in a suit stepped out, his face hidden behind a mask.

"Where's Class Representative Ibara Naruse?" He asked. When he was pointed in the direction and saw us with a survivor he ordered our immediate retrieval. "I am Onihei Mishima, JGSDF colonel and the Coppelion's vice-principal." He introduced himself to us before turning to Ibara. "What do you think you're doing, Naruse?" He asked her once the survivor was on the helicopter. "Why did you give him the ether? That is the vaccine for the mild case patient only. I taught you how rare it is, and the number as limited, am I correct?" When she didn't say anything he continued, "It will give only a temporary effect. Giving it to a last stage thyroid carcinoma patient like him..."  
"If that's the case, then please make more of it!" She snapped and pointing her gun in his face, aiming right between his eyes. "I will do the exact same thing once I find a survivor. That's our job."

"...I'll ask the ministry of defenses if they can start mass production with it." He replied before heading back to the helicopter. "Times up, we have to get back."

"Now that that's over, where were we?" Kaige asked, getting their attention. "I believe you were asking us about our parents..." She scratched her head with a grunt, "I believe it would be best if we show you where we live. Hop on."

"Hop on what...exactly?" Ibara asked, the two girls behind her looking equally confused. Kaige looked at her with a dull expression before turning to me.

"Kaz, would you please?"

"Sure thing." I replied and closed my eyes. My entire human structure started to rearrange itself; bones were cracking as they shifted into new positions and I am pretty sure one of the girls screamed...or maybe two I didn't really pay attention. My arms turned into clawed wings and dull burgundy scales started covering my skin. Soon I towered over them and I snapped my jaw twice before flapping my wings a bit. Two ivory horns curled up towards the sky from the crown of my head and my long tail twitched back and forth against the ground.

"She can change...appearances? Was it because of the radiation?" Ibara asked as I lowered my head so Kaige could sit on my back, holding onto my silver-colored mane like reigns.

"I'll explain everything when we get there but for now, hop on. There's enough room for you three even if she's still in her baby stage." Kaige replied and helped them up. "Fascinating that she is still big enough to be ridden...I would say she's in her teen stage but I don't get the growth spurt of animals that well."

"She looks marvelous...what kind of animal did she turn into?" Taeko asked as she held onto a spike.

"She turned into...uh what do they call them now?" She scratched her head before continuing, "Oh right! A wyvern. They're not from around here, in fact I believe they were extinct a long time ago before humans were around...maybe I'm not sure. I think she was watching a show and saw one of these babies flying across the screen. The only thing is though, she can't breathe fire...instead she makes it up with a venomous bite. Alright Kaz, time to go." She patted my neck and I unfurled my wings, the veins that ran through the membrane glistened in the sun's rays. Beating them powerfully I lifted off the ground and soared through the skies with the wind whistling past our ears.

* * *

_Our home..._

"As one of your hostess allow me to extend to you a warm welcome to our home." Kaige announced as we descended from the clouds. Everyone had a fun time enjoying the scenery and I could tell that they weren't used to being in the sky before since they were excited to have their feet on firm ground again. Once my talons scrapped against the rocks, I furled my wings back up and knelt down so that my riders could get off easily. Unlocking the door Kaige stood back and bowed slightly. "Please, come in." The three girls looked around with wonderment at our shabby shelter but there were no complaints yet.

"It's not much but...make yourselves at home." I replied, closing the door and making my way to the kitchen to wash my hands.

"Huh? But weren't you just-?! I mean we flew and you changed..." One the girls hit her head on the table with frustration. "My brain hurts."

"Let me explain then but first introductions." Kaige sat down and cleared her throat before continuing. "My name is Kaige, pleased to meet you."

"My name is Kaziah, but Kaige here calls me Kaz for short." I introduced myself with a small salute from the small window that opened up to the room. "It's an honor."

"I'm Ibara Naruse," Ibara said with a smile. "I'm also known as Class Representative and leader of this Medical Unit."

"I'm Aoi Fukasaku," Aoi spoke cheerfully. "Thank you for welcoming us to your home."

"I'm Taeko Nomura. " Taeko bowed her head. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Could you tell us more about your powers?" Ibara asked. "As well as why you live here for the past 20 years."

"That's fine, this was meant to be a long conversation anyways but I'll try to simplify things as much as possible." Kaige leaned back in her chair, promptly kicking her feet up. "Let's see...Kaz and I have been childhood friends since our birth, which was a few years before the radiation. In fact I believe I'm older than you Ibara by a year and Kaz is older than Aoi by a year. But anyways, our parents worked in Tokyo before the meltdown or whatever you want to call it as...um..." She looked at me for guidance, "What were they again?"

"I don't remember." I replied in honesty, shrugging my shoulders. "It's been too long to remember that kind of information."

"Well regardless they did live a life back in the city while we stayed at home." Kaige continued the story. "As we grew older we established a special bond between us, since our parents weren't usually home as much, in fact I'm pretty sure I snuck out of my home to visit Kaz everyday. It's almost like telepathy. Anyways when the meltdown happened our parents disappeared for some reason but I do believe they were killed by the radiation."

"So we were left to fend for ourselves." I cut in, resting my chin on her head and wrapped my arms around her neck. "At first we had no idea what happened out there; we were cut off from the rest of the world for so long. Soon after our ambitions and curiosity grew and we explored the ruined areas. What we weren't expecting though was the amount of toxins and contaminated rain when it gets into the wet season."

"We were running out of fresh water so when it rained...we assumed it was okay to drink it. We got infected almost immediately and not just internally, we were drenched head to toe with this liquid." Kaige said, reaching up to pinch my cheeks playfully. "The toxins, chemicals, radiation mixed in with our cells and DNA as a consequence. You would think that we would die from it but something strange happened."

"Yup! Kaige can produce molten lava at ease and I can change into anything I want." I grinned. "So far you guys have only seen my wyvern form but I can change two more times. Kaige's power is really useful though, when it's cold I use her as my personal heater."

"Your power is equally useful." She cracked a grin, "Especially when I get tired and have to have you be my mode of transportation."

"You meanie." I pouted and left to get some food for our guests.

"What about you guys?" Kaige asked once I disappeared, "How is it that you are immune to this radiation? That guy back there said something about a 'hazmat' suit...what is that?"

"We are Coppelion, the Ground Self-defense Force's Third division elite forces." Ibara explained. "We were born having antibodies that protect against radiation through genetics manipulation. We are actually the Medical Unit deployed to save the ones left behind. The clothing that man was wearing is called a hazmat and it's supposed to keep the radiation out."

"Is that so?" Kaige murmured as she placed a box of cigarettes on the table. "That's interesting."

"Lunch is here!" I announced, placing a platter of fruit on the table. "Eat up."

"Oh we also have some things to share as well." Aoi leaned down and pulled out some lunch boxes from her bag. "See?"

"Ooo! I've never seen these things before." Kaige said as and reached for an onigiri. "I wonder if it taste good..." She took a bite, chewed it and swallowed it. "Mmmm! Delicious!"

"Really? What about these then?" I asked and grabbed a croquette covered in some kind of cream. Nibbling on it like a mouse would with corn, my eyes lit up and I scarfed it down immediately. "This is so good! What is it?"

"These are onigiri and those are croquettes covered in crab-cream." Aoi explained.

"These fruit taste fresh, how and where did you get them?" Ibara asked as she bit into a peach, Aoi was already on her second apple while Taeko was munching on a banana.

"To be honest, these were all that we could save right before the meltdown struck. They were in the old fridge so it was preserved quite well surprisingly. It was brutal seeing everything crumble away." Kaige said as she took a bite out of her croquette. "All of the hard work of the farmers...gone in a heartbeat."

"Then you're willing to help us out?" Ibara asked with excitement. "As the Rescue unit, it's our job to find survivors and help them escape the radiation." Kaige finished her food and grinned.

"Sounds like an adventure to me so why not? And besides it would be a great stress reliever for Kaz to release her pent up energy. Sometimes I feel like she's like a wind-up toy ready to explode."

"Yay! Adventure!" I jumped on her back and pumped my fist into the air, "Let's get going!"

"O-Oi you're gonna break my back if you keep horsing around!" Laughing she dislodged me from her body and disappeared from the kitchen. "Let's get some of our belongings, can't go empty-handed."

"Yes!" I followed her out. We didn't have a lot of belongings so it didn't take us long to get ready. "Hey Kaige? How long do you think we'll be out?"

"Who knows, but it's okay." She replied as she threw in some medical supplies into a bag. Walking to a cabinet she took out what looked like a sword but without the blade, it was just the hilt. "Mom, Dad...Kaz and I are gonna go now. Please watch over us from above." She stared at the object for a minute before placing it in her pocket.

"Are you ready to go?" Ibara asked when we appeared.

"Yes Ma'am, we're all done." Kaige replied and led us outside. After closing the door behind her she pulled me into a hug. I stood there and didn't say anything, my arms reached up to grip her clothes tightly. This is our first time actually leaving the sanctuary of our home and never coming back...but now we have companions. We won't be lonely anymore.

"Let's get going." I whispered and she nodded. I stood back and changed shape, waiting patiently for my riders.

"Where are we heading to now?" Kaige asked Ibara as Taeko helped Aoi with the bags.

"Let's go back to see what else we can do in the city." The class rep said, tracing a route on the map with a finger. "There may still be survivors that we haven't found yet."

"Okay!" Kaige grinned as they climbed on and patted my neck. "Time to move out!"


	2. Chapter 2: Future

**A/N**: Chapter 2 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Future**

_Tokyo City..._

"Everyone , please take a look at all of this!" A reporter's voice was screaming over the roar of a burning fire. "What a sight! Odaiba, in Tokyo is becoming a sea of flames! Aaaaah! The 4th plant has been destroyed just now!"

"Fuaaaaa!" Ibara yawned loudly as she stretched her arms high. "So this is a morning in Tokyo..." She spoke as the birds were chirping and the harsh sunlight filtered in through the screen door.

"Good morning from us in the studio, here at the capital Kyoto." She turned her attention to the news report on a laptop. "It's 7 o'clock right now. Thursday, October 2nd, 2036."

"What? Is that a satellite TV, Aoi?" Ibara asked as the girl continued to munch on an Onigiri, her eyes glued on the screen.

"Ah, good morning, Ibara-senpai." She replied. "How about some Onigiri? Here are salmon flakes, cod roe, and chicken fish powder."

"Sounds yummy, I want one." They looked over as I stumbled out of the room I was sleeping in, rubbing the haziness from my eyes. My bed head wasn't too bad but some of my locks were all over the place. "Kaige's still sleeping but I believe she'll wake up soon enough if I get her food."

"Good morning Kaziah." Ibara smiled as I reached over to stuff a cod roe flavored onigiri in my mouth. Nodding my head in her direction, I grabbed one salmon flake onigiri and chicken fish powder onigiri before scurrying back into the room.

"What's the lesson we've learned from that accident?" The man continued talking, prompting the other two to look at the screen. "October 2nd, 2036...Today, it has been precisely 20 years since that accident at Daiba nuclear power plant, owned by Tokyo Electric, in honor of this we've altered the program schedule and will present a special program. 20 years ago, the radiation set free from that place because of the meltdown," The screen changed to that of a map of Japan, with the power plant as the epicenter of the situation, and how much of the land was impacted,"was spread from the Westerlies to the Tohoku area, and caused serious damages to economic industries."

"Hmm? Where's Taeko?" Ibara asked as she looked around for the glasses girl.

"She's taking a walk." Aoi replied as she continued to listen to the report.

"After that incident, Kyoto became the capital, while major companies' head offices also moved to Kansai. Japan was forced to do a huge reformation because of that disastrous accident. Even now, Tokyo is closed off by high protective walls, and has been inactive for the past 20 years."

Self-defense Force Helicopter...

"Well, everyone...Don't you want to know what lies behind these walls...? We are now connecting to a broadcast by the Ground Self-defense Force. By the strong wishes of the nation, the government party in the last diet session, has permitted the live broadcast from the air by the SDF."

"Ibuse," Mishima spoke as he turned his head away from the TV. "It's almost time."

"I understand, Mishima Onihei." Ibuse said as he angled the equipment properly through the helicopter door. "Alright! With this one cable, the connection is ready to go! Here goes nothing!" He plugs it in. Immediately every single TV station is hooked up to this equipment.

"Everyone, this is the old capital, Tokyo! We present to you on-the-spot broadcasting from Kyoto, relayed from a camera set on a SDF helicopter. As you all know, today, all areas of Tokyo are contaminated by strong radioactivity. Common Citizens are prohibited to enter the areas by law. But everyone, with the images we received, we will know what state of condition Tokyo is in now. Stay tune on this channel-we'll be right back after these messages!"

"Principal..." Ibuse spoke once the news went on break. "Is it really alright to show this kind of place to citizens?"

"We were permitted to take a shot because of the wish from the citizens who are seeing this." was the reply as the helicopter continued to fly over the city. "It would be the best to show them."

* * *

_Back to the inside the city..._

With the news taking a 10 minute break, the girls lazily lounged about as a commercial played. Kaige woke up not too long ago and was currently sitting with her back against the couch. I lay near her with my attention on counting how many split-ends I had on my head. Aoi released a yawn and Ibara was staring out of space with nothing else better to do.

"Ibara-senpai! Quick! Come here!" Everyone immediately looked up at the sound of Taeko's panicky voice.

"What's wrong, Taeko!?" Ibara asked as she opened the door quickly with everyone following her.

"Right there!" Taeko pointed down the road. "It's a dog! Looks like he's following us!"

"Ooooh, you're right!" Ibara stated as she looked at the animal in curiosity. He had a glossy brown coat and he had some long whiskers and a bushy tail.

"Is he alright? We're inside an area filled with radiation..." Taeko worried as the animal stood there watching them with calm eyes.

"It must be the same as us. It adapted to this environment during the past 20 years."

"That reminds me," Taeko smiled as she looked up at the sky, watching the birds flying free in the sky, "there are also birds around. I'm glad. It's not only us around here."

"What...?" Aoi looked at her in confusion. "You treat animals the same way you treat us?"

"What's that supposed to imply Aoi?" I asked innocently, "Are you saying that animals cannot be treated equally? And because about your next words, I don't know the meaning of holding back." By now I was giving off a dangerous vibe and she knew that since she quickly scurried behind Ibara in fright.

"Of course!" Taeko replied, "Living things are all family."

"It's time to go," Ibara ordered, "prepare quickly." We nodded our heads in agreement and hurried back into the shelter that we stayed in.

"Nee, Ibara-senpai..." Aoi spoke as she was rolling up a sleeping bag, "is it really okay if we use someone's house without permission?"

"Well. Yeah," Ibara replied as she tightened the string around her own sleeping bag, "no one uses this house anymore after all."

"What's today's objective?" Taeko asked after she wiped off the table.

"We'll search for survivors here, at Fuchu." Ibara said.

"Eh?" Kaige and I stepped out with our bag packed. "We're staying around here..? Then why did we even bother packing...?"

"Maybe there are people asking for help like yesterday Kaige, we can't leave them." I replied as she set our belongings next to theirs.

"The SOS signals are sent mainly from this Fuchu area," Ibara said as she looked outside, "but they are completely ignoring the calls from our side. It's just maybe...they can't move because of the effect of radioactivity." She turned to us and held up a small machine, "We'll use this counter to search for them." Turning it on there was this annoying noise that scared all of us. "Calm down. It's from that dog! If we get near them, this counter would ring loudly...at whoever was showered on by radioactive rain...whether it's human or animal."

"It might not just be the dog." Kaige said. "Remember, Kaz and I were also covered in that kind of junk back then so we might also set off that equipment by accident."

"Okay, let's move out." Ibara took the lead and we left the shelter. The sun was shining down upon our backs and in no time at all Aoi started to complain. Noticing the cars that were littered along the streets were all from 20 years ago so they wouldn't be too much of use. Suddenly the device that Taeko was holding featured the news cast and the Principal showed up.

"I am Ground Self-defense Force, 3rd Forces, the Principal teacher of special chemical engineering school, Lieutenant Mishima Onihei. I took command of the group providing this program." We started to huddle around to look at the program with interest.

"Mishima Principal," The reporter adjusted his ear piece so that he could hear a bit better, "what our citizens are most concerned about is the health of SDF members."

"In other words, you mean the effect of radioactivity on them? No need to worry." Mishima replied, "One year ago, Mitsuboshi Heavy Industries collaborated with the Department of Defense's invention. The traditional protective suit can only protect against alpha and beta rays, but can do nothing against gamma rays. It was because gamma rays can only be defended against using a really thick lead. And, for that purpose," He pointed to the clothing his was wearing, "this suit was created."

"Hoo..." The reporter gasped in amazement. "That would mean, if you use that suit, it would protect you from all kinds of radioactivity?"

"Ha! Not if there's a tear in it. I don't believe in such articles of clothing..." Kaige snorted but hushed up when I elbowed her in the ribs to keep her quiet.

"On experiments we have done, 99% of them succeed in shutting out the ray. But that doesn't mean it can completely protect against it. Therefore," Mishima held up a little timer, "we prepared this counter timer, which will ring when the limit is closing. We'll be able to keep it in action for quite a long time if we keep moving at this height, where the radioactivity is at its lowest. If we descend below, this timer will ring in about 30 minutes. When that happens, we have to leave at once."

"I see...As expected, it's a high risk operation."

"That's enough." Ibara cut in, "it has nothing to do with us. Shut that off, Taeko. Let's go." Obeying her, Taeko turned it off and they continued walking.

"Ibara-senpai, let's start sleeping in a hotel!" Aoi commented when she felt that we have walked enough. "That way we won't have to live in some shabby house anymore."

"I don't know if you would be able to say that again Aoi," Ibara replied, "once you see this." We stopped and looked to see a hotel not too far away that is leaning ever so slightly.

"Most definitely the result of that earthquake that happened here." Kaige stated as she gazed at the building with mild disdain.

"Am I right that because of that earthquake, the power station's emergency reactor core cooling device was broken down?" Taeko asked. "And then the meltdown happened..."

"Yeah. You've learned from that lesson, haven't you? It seems that the electric company said that it won't budge, even if an earthquake with magnitude 8 comes along. Though the result is what you see here. Be careful...of the building falling on you." Ibara shouldered her bag and continued walking. "So what do we do, Aoi? Shall we stay here?"

"I think the normal house is better, yes, Senpai!" Aoi quickly stated as she hurried after us. Then an idea popped into her mind and she pulled out the little device and turned it on. The screen was blank for a minute before it honed in on the satellite TV and started to play the news.

"Please stop your hands a moment, and see the television..." Ibara turned her head sharply when she heard the vice-principal's voice escape the device, noticing that Aoi and Taeko looking at the screen with interest. "October the 2nd, 2016...On that day, the world changed..."

"Ah..." Aoi looked up guiltily when she noticed her senpai staring at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry, I'll turn this off!"

"No." was the reply. "Show me." Aoi looked at her in hesitation before turning the screen so that she could see it. Kaige and I looked at each other before walking over to look over their shoulders to see what was happening in the world at the moment. The camera was displaying a live image of the bridge that was once shrouded in mist.

"What was the reason for that accident? Why couldn't we have stopped it before it was too late?" Mishima continued as the camera moved to capture more images, the mist was slowly letting up to allow the viewers see what it had been concealing behind its walls. "I kept searching for the answer...I mean, no, maybe all of you were also... please put this image in your heart. 20 years ago, the very source of that accident, that has robbed the lives of 90% of Tokyo citizens..." The looming shape of a power plant appeared on screen and I felt my breath lodge in my chest as I looked at it. There were still toxic fumes rising out of the pipes but other than that it still looks the same."That is here, at the Tokyo Electric's Odaiba power plant. Won't you all please brand this scene into your eyes. This is the very source...of what is causing the death of 90% of Tokyo citizens."

"Tokyo Electric's...Obaiba power plant..." I spoke mesmerized as we stared at the heinous man-made structure.

"As you can see, the power plant is covered by thick iron and lead armor. It is the same device as used by the Chernobyl power plant. Its function to prevent the severe radioactive particles from going outside. There is still no artificial way to cancel out the radiation, even to this day. Once it reached into the air outside, there's nothing humans can do." The image shifted to a picture of the other power plant, "A half a century ago, in Chernobyl, they called this giant lead box...a sarcophagus...That same coffin is also here in Tokyo now. In the near future, will these coffins also appear in some other places? All citizens of Japan...No, all of you in the world...this Pandora Box has been opened by the hands of human...but we don't know how to close it." Soon the news ended and Aoi turned the device off, giving it back to Taeko so that she could put it in her bag.

"Who...do you think will close it? The Box..." Taeko asked as she and Aoi looked at Ibara expectantly.

"Let's go. It's our job to find the survivors in this dead city, Tokyo." was the stiff reply as if she refused to think about anything other than their top priority.

"Kaz...are you okay?" Kaige asked when she noticed that I had my arms wrapped around me, my eyes were staring at nothing.

"...it's nothing..." I mumbled and when she gave me a skeptical look I just smiled and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, can't keep the others waiting." We came upon a huge area that used to belong to Tokyo Electric. Back 20 years it made a lot of profit, now there was nothing left but ruined buildings.

"Oooooh...!?" Ibara looked at the device in her hand as it suddenly made some noise. "Here it comes! Suddenly the counter increased!"

"A...A survivor!?" Aoi looked around as she tried to spot any signs of life.

"It's shouldn't be us," Kaige said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders, "this is the first time it's ever gone off since we started this journey."

"Huh...?" Ibara looked confused as she turned around, "This is coming from the same direction we came from..."

"Aah...!" Taeko pointed to the animal behind us as it started to scratch underneath its jaw with a hind leg. "It's the dog from this morning. Maybe he followed us the whole time!?"

"Give me a break..." Ibara groaned as she ran her fingers through her hair, "We won't be able to find the survivors, then."

"I'll talk to him so that he doesn't move around." Taeko spoke as she handed me her medical bag. I took it and slung it over my shoulder. "You guys can go ahead."

"Eh...but..." Ibara was about to offer to go along with her to make sure she was safe.

"It's alright. I'm the raising group at the school after all." Taeko smiled.

"...I got it. Then, we'll come to pick you up if we find a survivor. You brought your radio with you? It's Channel 2." Ibara told her and she held up her own radio.

"Yes!" Saluting us goodbye she started to walk towards the dog who watched her approach him.

"Ibara-senpai..." Aoi spoke once Taeko was a little out of earshot, "Taeko's likeness of animal is..."

"Yeah...it was incorporated in her DNA to be like that...She has had heightened senses like an animal since she was born." Jerking her head Ibara led the rest of us off on our excursion. I looked back for a minute before following them.

"Ibara-senpai...is this place really a factory?!" Aoi spoke as she moved some branches out of her face. Kaige huffed in annoyance as her shoes were tangled in the weeds. "It looks more like a forest..."

"It became this way because it was not maintained." Ibara said, looking at the surrounding. Then the device went off and she focused on pinpointing the exact location. Aoi, Kaige and I immediately shut our mouths as we looked around suspiciously. "It's from that corner...let's go!"

"Kaige..." I spoke as I gripped her clothes tightly, "I smell death." Giving me a glance, she gave me a soft smile and moved forward, inclining her head to get a look. Against the wall was a survivor, his suit torn to the point where we could see his ribcage, his mask laying on the ground and he had a gun in his hand.

"...You're right." She replied as she stood up. "Ibara, there's a dead person."

"Eeeek...!" Aoi spoke as she took a look before going back into hiding.

"Stay right there Aoi." Ibara ordered as she motioned for Kaige to follow her. She took Taeko's bag from me and the two of them inched closer. Once they were closed enough, she deducted that it was suicide and judging by the smell she deduced that it has been in this area for more than a month.

"I can't this anymore..." Aoi whined, "I want to return to Oosaka."

"You'll be fine Aoi." I assured her as Ibara proceeded to get some samples from the poor fellow. Aoi looked at me with watery eyes before noticing something in a dirty mirror. Within the darkness she noticed a pair of eyes gleaming hungrily at Ibara and Kaige, narrowing in focus as if it was preparing to pounce.

"Se...Senpai!" Aoi yelled in fright, jumping out of hiding."There's something in the dark!" Suddenly the beast broke through the wooden planks and rushed towards her , mouth wide open.

"Look out!" I jumped in front of her and changed shape. The animal skidded to a halt before narrowing its eyes dangerously.

"Grrraaaawwwrrrrrrr!" I snarled a reply, flapping my wings out as an intimidation approach. The canine took a step back before rising to my challenge, upper lips pulled back to show razor sharp fangs. I heard a loud bang and the animal fell on its side and I looked up to see Ibara with a gun in hand; there was smoke coming out of the barrel.

"It's okay, I shot it with a tranquilizer. Is it asleep?"

"Ye...Yes, maybe..." Aoi said shakily, "Ehm, Ibara-senpai...this couldn't be...that dog we've met..."

"No, it's different. This dog...it's more likely rummaging on that dead body. Look, these sharp fangs." Ibara pointed at the large incisors as we could hear the animal snore. "This is a wolf."

"A wolf...? Why would a wolf be here in Tokyo?" Kaige asked, patting my snout and I purred deeply in my chest and leaned closer to her.

"Don't know. Perhaps stray dogs have grown wild in these past 20 years." was the reply as the wind started to pick up around us. "You can call this place a uninhabited forest."

"Wait a second...then the dog which was together with Taeko is also..." Aoi stuttered.

"She didn't bring a weapon with her!" Ibara worried as she grabbed her radio.

"Quick! Contact her...!" Aoi shouted.

"I know that!" Ibara spoke as she turned it on. There a brief minute of static before she was able to speak in it. "Oi! Taeko, answer please! Taeko!Can't you hear me!? Oi!" There was no reply. "Damn! Where did she go...!?"

"That's why...That's why Aoi didn't want to come to this kind of place." Aoi started to cry, "Humans should never come to this place! This city was already dead 20 years ago..."

"We'll go!" Ibara spoke as she reloaded her gun. "We'll save Taeko!"

"Good thinking Chief!" Kaige spoke as she hopped on my back. "Climb on, Kaz will take us back to the place where Taeko last stood." Nodding in agreement, Ibara climbed on and helped Aoi. Once they were all on, I ran through the barren streets, my talons made nearby cars jump every time they slam into the ground. I didn't want to use my wings because I knew that running there was an easy feat in this form. In no time we came to that intersection and they hopped off, allowing me to change back to my human self.

"Chief, here's that radio!" Kaige held up the device that had blood stains on it.

"She might not have been attacked by the wolf necessarily.." I said as I noticed that there was a trail of blood. "I can't be sure but let us follow it."

"Ibara-senpai maybe you should let the Vice-principal know how we stand..." Aoi spoke as she looked through some of the shop windows. As she proceeded to get in touch with him the rest of us continued our search, yelling Taeko's name. Suddenly a bullet whizzed past my head, taking out a few strands of my hair as I barely dodged it.

"Kaz!" Kaige rushed to my side and counter attacked with a fire ball, her eyes blazing with anger. "Come out here and fight you coward!" The bullets continued to fly through the air and Ibara returned fire as she hid behind a stone wall. Aoi was crouching not too far with her hands over her head. A stray bullet grazed Ibara's cheek and she growled with irritation.

"God damn it...! Let's move out of here!" She yelled, grabbing the back of Aoi's jacket as the girl started to cry. Kaige was about to argue when I grabbed her arm and ran after Ibara. We created some distance between us as Ibara reloaded her gun.

"It's from that green grocer..." Kaige glowered at the ruined shop, her fingers already itching for a fight.

"Wait here Aoi." Ibara said before running towards the structure. Kaige followed her as I stayed behind with Aoi. The two of them carefully moved around, their senses sharp and their eyes darted back and forth as they searched the area.

"Chief, you're bleeding." Kaige said as she noticed blood from the earlier scuffle.

"Oh? The wound will heal in 2 or 3 minutes." She shrugged it off as the radio turned on. "Vice-principal? Mmhmm...the man escaped..." As she was busy filling in the details Kaige walked inside to investigate. After looking around she nodded to make sure that no one was in here. Returning to our side we continued to follow the trail that turned out to be an animal's trail.

"This is no good...it's the wolf's footprints." Ibara said as she looked at the blood trail. "And it looks like it's dragging something...this is..."

"Huh...!?" Aoi turned her head after hearing something that sounded like an animal in pain. "Senpai...! There...!" She spotted a wounded animal laying on the side of the road, its tongue out as it panted for breath. We inched closer, Ibara already pulling out her gun just as a precaution if things went down hill.

"Look at this," I pointed to the animal's leg where blood was coming out. "he got hurt by a bullet."

"This this bloodstain trail belonged to the wolf as well?" Aoi asked as she looked back.

"Yeah, someone shot him." Kaige said.

"But...Taeko didn't bring any gun, did she?"

"That would mean only one thing..." Ibara said as she made sure her gun was in check, pulling the slide back until she heard a satisfying click.

"The one who shot at us earlier..." Aoi finished the sentence as she sensed something behind her.

"Don't move!" A voice spoke and we whirled around to see a survivor in a hazmat suit with Taeko in his hands, a gun pointed at her head. "Give me back my child! You monsters!"

"Taeko!" Aoi shouted as Ibara aimed her gun at the survivor. Kaige had a fireball prepared in her hand and I changed shape immediately. The man released a small whimper as he watched me fearfully as I towered over my friends and glared at him with my eyes.

"What the hell are you...?!" He barked at us, "Why don't you wear protective suits!?"

"We are the Ground JDF Third special Forces, Coppelion." Ibara took out a badge that confirms what she was saying. "We have antibodies against radiation."

"Antibodies...against radiation...!?" The man replied as if it sounded like a miracle.

"Please calm down...We came here to rescue you all." Ibara said as she raised her gun in the air to show him that we mean no harm.

"Of course," Kaige sneered as she tossed her fire ball up and down in boredom. "if you refuse to cooperate I won't be held responsible to what happens."

"You liars!" The man roared, digging the gun against Taeko's temple. "You guys kidnapped my daughter! I know how you are!"

"Your daughter...?" Ibara asked.

"You can't fool me...!" The man yelled as if he was on the verge of insanity. "Give me back my cute daughter! I'm getting sick of this place...!" Taking an opening chance, Taeko rammed her elbow against the man's chest, causing him to release his hold on her. Ibara immediately moved forward and fired an antidote into the man's suit.

"Shit!" He howled as he looked at the bubble substance, "What the hell did you do?!"

"Taeko!" Ibara and Aoi shouted in glee as they rushed to give her a hug.

"Move aside!" The girl said as she ran between them and knelt beside the injured wolf. "Ibara-senpai! Please lend me the first-aid kit!" Giving Aoi a questioning look, Ibara handed her her medical bag without another word.

"Hmph! Not even a thank you, I see how she is." Kaige huffed as she made the ball disappear and I kept my gaze on the man but I sensed no other threat.

"I gave you a dose of Ether, the panacea." The man looked up to see Ibara approach him with a friendly smile on her face. "Do you feel better?"

"Why did you take care of it?!" Aoi spoke as she hid behind a telephone pole, eying Taeko as she bandaged the animal's wound. "That's a wolf...a beast?!"

"He protected me that time." was the reply as the wolf showed his appreciation as he licked her hand. "He is a very nice person."

"Person, huh..." Aoi thought as she watched the interaction in mild interest.

"Pardon me...can you tell me all of it." Ibara continued to talk to the man who seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"Hurry it up!" Kaige growled angrily, appearing by Ibara's side and stomped her foot with impatience, "We've already wasted precious time since you pulled this stunt on us. You better have a good excuse!"

"Kaige!" Ibara gave her a warning look before looking back at the man. "You said your daughter is missing?"

"Yeah...you're right! There's no time for this!" The man nodded his head frantically. "I apologize for what I did just now, my 9 year old daughter is missing since this morning! Please...can you search for her together!" He clutched his head in sadness. "If something happened to Miku...Uuh I don't know what I should do. Please help me...please!"

"Okay but first let us know your age and where you live." Ibara said but the man didn't listen as he hopped to his feet.

"I'll search over there! You girls please around there! If you found her just say so out loud!" He shouted his orders and disappeared.

* * *

_Nagoya..._

"What? A child?!" Mishima said over the radio as he rested in the locker room. The JDF helicopter, after filming Tokyo from the air has landed in a base in Nagoya for a pit stop; the crew hurried to the cafeteria for some lunch and breaks before looking over their schedules for the next assignment. "Wait...You're not telling me that there's a 9 year old girl living in a city filled by radiation!?"

"Haa...Her name is Miku." Ibara's voice responded over the radio.

"What should we do?" Lieutenant Ibuse looked over as Mishima looked a picture of his wife and daughter in his locker, a stern expression on his face. He had lost them to the devastating event 20 years ago so hearing about another child made his heart hurt.

"We will dispatch over there now." He told her, "Just do as the survivor asked you to do in the meantime."

"Ha!" Another voice floated in through the speaker that didn't sound like Ibara's voice. "That old git is probably pulling our strings! I don't trust him one bit!" There was a bit of scuffling followed by a gruff of anger.

"Naruse, who was that just now?" Mishima asked.

"Sorry sir, she's a bit irritated right now." Ibara replied.

"I'm NOT irritated, I just want to pitch in my two-cents as to why we shouldn't just trust every single survivor we meet!" was the muffled response as I dragged her away to continue our search for the child.

"Who? Taeko or Aoi?"

"When you come back, I'll properly introduce you to them. I better go, we'll start our search immediately." Ibara turned off the radio before joining us. We searched the area thoroughly, even the wolf was following Taeko with a small limp. Aoi however didn't have much luck before being attacked by bats after finding rats in a nearby trashcan.

"With the disappearing of people, pollution gasses, and electromagnetic waves, Chernobyl became the foremost clean area in the world." Taeko said as she remembered what she learned from class. "And so, many kinds of animals were returning from the mountain."

"But even so, the radiation is still there." Ibara said, "Animals can't stand that, right?"

"Yes...that means...to these people..." We turned our attention to the wolf who was resting near our bags, his tail wagged once when he realized that we were looking at him. "maybe radioactivity is better than humans."

"UWAAAA!" Suddenly a man's scream captured our attention. "He...Help meeee...!"

"This voice...is the guy we met just now!?" Aoi said as Taeko helped the wolf get on his feet, the animal clearly showed his displeasure of being rushed.

"Let's go, it's from over there!" Ibara said and we took off running.

"Yikes..." The man shivered as he tried to shoot but realized that his gun was out of bullets. Before him stood two wolves and one mutated leopard, their hungry gazes fixed on him. The leopard had three eyes, two noses, two tongues and one giant mouth, it looked hideous. "Gyaa! This time it is really a monster!"

"Get down!" Ibara ordered as she fired a warning shot causing the animals to turn their attention on her.

"Don't shoot Senpai!" Taeko said. The leopard leaped forward but the wolf stood in front and barked at them, his lips pulled back in anger. They coward before him and turned away to find others to pray on.

"So he must be the boss around here huh?" Aoi said as she looked at the animal. "I might just fall for this person!"

"Because that day...they must have fled from a zoo nearby." Taeko said in sadness as we watched the animals walk away. "All humans ran for their lives so desperately...so maybe they were deserted just like that...and live here since then..."

"Aaah...I can't take any of this anymore!" We turned our attention to see the survivor slamming his fists against the ground. "Where are you Miku...damn! She must havae been eaten by those monsters! Uuuh...damnit!"

"This man is so pathetic..." Kaige groaned irritably, running her hand through her hair with frustration, "can I please put him out of his misery?"

"No." Ibara shook her head as she looked at the survivor, "How...How have you been living in this place? You lived in such a city for 20 years...for what reason are you still here?"

"Probably the same reason why Kaige and I have been living on the outskirt of town." I commented. "With no other place to go or maybe the others abandoned him so he had no options left."

"...except we didn't bitch about being left behind, we actually struggled through and took it like champs." Kaige snorted and crossed her arms across her chest.

"We have a safe place to live in this place." The man replied, "Right now, my wife stays at home by herself...lets have more of this talk later, please find my daughter first! You girls are the JDF right!?"

"Yes. It is our duty to protect the citizens! And with that purpose we came here from Oosaka." Ibara told him.

"Kaz and I are just hitch-hikers but we are, in actuality orphans so we decided to lend our support to them." Kaige said.

"Us..." The man repeated slowly, rolling the foreign word around on his tongue. "You would help my daughter too?"

"Yes, because that is our duty."

"Is that so...what great news." The survivor said with relief.

"Would you please show us your house? Maybe we can find some clues..." Ibara asked and his face lit up with determination.

"Okay, follow me." Rising up he turned around and walked down the barren street, "My house...is over there!"


	3. Chapter 3: Searching

**A/N**: Chapter 3 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Searching**

_Some place in Tokyo..._

"Here is my home." The survivor spoke as he led us towards a hospital. "There's an aseptic room that survived the radiation in the underground. We somehow managed to hid there. Well, I heard there are other safe places like my home scattered around the city. We've survived because Tokyo has a lot of underground areas." Approaching a dark stairwell he pressed the switch, "It's below here."

"This is impossible..." Ibara spoke as the lights turned on. "This lights are...on...!?"

"Aaaah..." The survivor smiled behind his mask as he led us down the stairs, "It's a private electric generator. We're using a solar power panel we picked up. It's enough to provide the electricity for this house."

"Then how about the food...?" Ibara asked. "The food supplies dropped by JDF stopped five years ago..."

"...Well, the reason was because they passed judgment that there were no survivors left." He looked at us, "...Every week, a ration truck comes by."

"Ration truck?!" The three Coppelions looked shocked while Kaige and I just looked unamused.

"Big deal." Kaige stated and continued walking, I followed after her with a smile on my face. "We saw ration trucks a little bit after that explosion 20 years ago but it didn't concern us one bit."

"It's a really big deal Kaige." Ibara said irritably, "We don't know who the people who are distributing the rations are."

"I don't know either...they came from somewhere and just dropped off food, protective suits, and oxygen tanks. But...those rations stopped last months. So we didn't have any other choice than to send a SOS signal." We appeared at the lowest level of the underground and he turned to face us. "There, we've arrived at the aseptic room...! But before you enter you have to disinfect first!"

"Is it because we smell bad?" I asked him, "Or is it because we are covered in radiation particles?"

"Right you are, little missy. There is a shower in the corner so you can cleanse your body."

"Did you say, shower?" Aoi asked, bawling Ibara over as she rushed to call first dibs.

"Yeah...in emergency cases this hospital draws its water from deep below ground. But just don't take a long shower."

"Yes! Understood!" Aoi said as she followed him.

"Erm...Senpai," Taeko whispered as the rest of us followed them. "I have one thing I fell uneasy about..."

"What is it Taeko?" Ibara asked.

"The protective suits they're wearing...I'm certain that we learned in the lesson that gamma rays won't be sealed out by average materials..."

"You're right." Ibara agreed. "The barrier suit the principal is wearing..even that suit can't completely block all of the radiation." Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she received clothes from the survivor and hopped into the shower after Taeko. While she was washing the soap out of her hair,the vice-principal called her through the radio.

"Quick, close the door or the radiation will enter." The man spoke once she finished her shower, allowing her to enter the room where the others were waiting.

"I called for a rescue helicopter." Ibara told him as she saw Taeko and Aoi already in their own set of clothes. "It will arrive in about 2, 3 hours."

"Really...!" The man said with happiness. "That sounds good."

"Nooooo! Don't make me! You can't!" They all looked up as I dashed in, butt naked. Taking cover behind Ibara I watched as Kaige stormed in with an unamused look on her face. Her hair was damp with the soap bubbles running down her face which indicated a water fight. "You keep me away from that evil liquid! It burns my skin!"

"What are you, 5 years old? Quit bitching and get back here so that we can finish washing! I can't believe you ran out in the middle of your bath! " She snapped, grabbing me by the wrist. "Sorry about that, she hasn't had a decent bath in ages so she's not use to clean water." She quickly apologized as I tried to get out of her grasp. "Why you-!" She growled as I tried to bite her, running my tongue over her arm to gross her out, "Kaz, stop being childish!" With a face of pure disgust she threw me over her shoulder and left the room, slamming the door shut before stomping back to the shower room.

"She's...pretty rowdy huh?" The man said as the Coppelions just laughed nervously. "Oh. This is my wife, Yukiko." He waved to the woman sitting in the chair before pointing at himself. "I'm Kawabata Mitsuo."

"How's the air here?" Ibara asked. "I mean, ventilation and..."

"Aaaah, thanks to this! There." Kawabata pointed to two pipes near the wall. "Just like the shower this pipe is connected to the water vein underground. We won't be able to breathe good air unless it were from a place so deep underground. And radioactive particles are easily dissolved with water...we simply can't move outside when it's raining."

"You seem really knowledgeable...about radioactivity..." Ibara stated calmly.

"Of course; people will become extremely knowledgeable when they live in a place like this for years!" Kawabata said with a smile. "Rather than that, we really should search for my daughter quickly...! This morning she suddenly went missing...we told her many times not to go outside."

"She's only nine, yes...?" Taeko asked. "Can a nine year old girl wear a protective suit by herself?"

"Miku-chan is a smart girl..." Yukiko said. "I taught her how to not a while back...Then it turned out like this..." She then proceeded to sob in her hands, "Aaaah...it's all my fault!"

"Stop it, Yukiko!" Kawabata said as Ibara looked over a map in concentration. "It's no use for you to say something like that..."

"Why did your daughter leave by herself?" Ibara asked them. "Maybe she's planning to do something without either of you knowing..."

"Even if you say that..." Kawabata thought hard, "I don't know what she would try and keep secret from us..."

"That girl, perhaps..." Yukiko gasped as she got an idea. "She left for her mother's place..."

"EH...!?" The three girls looked at them in shock. "You're saying you're not her mother...!?"

"...I remarried." Kawabata admitted. "My previous wife...Miku's mother is already...She died from cancer three years ago."

"That girl...She's a really good girl." Yukiko said. "She also began to see me as her family quickly, too...but she must still be unable to forget about her true mother..."

"You said she went to her mother's place...what is that supposed to mean?" Ibara asked.

"The horse race course...where graves are placed." Kawabata answered.

"Race course!?"

"Here...this place!" He pointed to a rectangular shape on the map. "Tokyo horse race-course...it's about two km east from here."

"Why are graves at race-course?" Aoi asked.

"It's kind of a custom around here. When someone dies, people should place his/her corpse there. My wife's also there...only a headstone in a bleak graveyard..." Kawabata paused for a minute, "That's the only thing we could do..."

"Then...why do you live in this place even after she met such a fate?" Ibara asked. "You're still quite young. You can move to another city."

"That's impossible." Kawabata spoke, his expression looked really stern and evil. "Because we're criminals."

"Huh...?!" The three of them stared at them again in surprise.

"There's the Fuchuu prison north from here. The biggest cage in Japan...we fled in great numbers from there. Using the confusion which occurred because of the accident 20 years ago...Yukiko and my late wife were also there."

"I knew these clothes looked suspicious the minute I saw them." They looked up to see Kaige standing there with her arms folded across her chest. "But hey, I won't judge you by your cover."

"...Did you commit a severe crime?" Ibara asked.

"I think so..." he replied, "all of us were placed inside the jail room for murderers." Suddenly he sunk to his knees and gripped onto Ibara's shirt. "I beg you! I don't care what happens to us! But please, please rescue her!" Tears were coming down his face as he sobbed against her. "I will receive whatever punishment the government might give me! I will do everything for my daughter..." Yukiko started to sob in her hands.

"..." Ibara just stared in silence as she continued to watch the man bawl before her.

"Please stop crying, ma'am..." Yukiko looked up to see Aoi smile gently. "We will surely help your daughter."

"Ibara-senpai...?" Taeko looked at her expectantly.

"Hm...!? Aaah..." Ibara quickly put on her thinking phase, "Yeah...if that's the case, erm...Aoi!"

"Ye...Yes?" Aoi said as she snapped a quick salute.

"I'll be leaving for the race course. You stay here and look after Yukiko-san...along with Taeko." Ibara spoke before leaving to get a change of clothes.

"Eeeeh!" Aoi shrieked as she immediately grasped the back of her shirt, pulling it in an attempt to stop her leader. "No, no! I don't want to be separated from senpai!"

"This is a job only you can do." Ibara said as she removed her fingers. "So good luck! Let's go Kaige!"

"Finally!" Kaige smiled as she followed the leader out. "I can't wait to get back outside...no offense." She smiled apologetically as Kawabata ran to change his own clothes to act as their guide. Once they emerged from the hospital they were greeted by Mr. Wolf who immediately padded up to Kaige with a tail wag and a sniff.

"It seems like he is a little comfortable around you but it wouldn't been better if we had Taeko." Ibara said.

"Couldn't leave Aoi alone right? It's okay, I think we'll manage." Kaige smiled as she reached down to pat the animal on the head.

"We might as well take him with us as our guide dog." Ibara said, "By the way, where's Kaziah? Do you think she might like to join us?"

"Oh right!" Kaige turned back to look at the hospital. "Well after that hell of a shower, she should be eager enough to get out." Raising her fingers to her mouth, she released a whistle. "Kaz! Do you wanna go out on a walk? Or would you rather stay and baby-sit?" I immediately zoomed out of the hospital doors and jumped onto her back. Like any child would I wrapped my arms around her neck and held on tight, refusing to let go. "I'd take that as a yes for the walk. But don't expect me to carry you most of the time."

"I know. I know." I pouted and hopped off with a grin on my face. "Let's get going!"

"Headquarters, this is Coppelion." Ibara spoke through the radio. "We will now begin the mission to rescue the child."

"Let's go, the track's this way. Miku's oxygen cylinder is small...Even if it were a highly condensed cylinder, it wouldn't last long!" Kawabata said as we ran down the street. "Even if it were a highly condensed cylinder, it wouldn't last long!"

"We have to find her before that happens...it'll be too late if she falls unconscious because of oxygen deficiency!" Ibara growled.

"Fuchuu Honmachi station is just around there and the race course is right after that station!"

"Ara...?" Kaige looked back to see the wolf sitting a few feet away, his lips raised in a snarl. "Is something wrong? Why did you stop all of a sudden..." Ibara looked at the dog with a knowing expression on her face.

"What the hell...!" Kawabata said with his fist raised, "Just leave that dog!"

"It can't be..." Quickly rummaging through her bag and pulled out a device. "It's no good..." She said as she looked at the number that appeared on the screen. "Normal humans can't get through here..."

"What...!" Kawabata exclaimed.

"The radiation density here is not ordinary. Yesterday we rescued a survivor, and he, just like you, was wearing a superior protective suit." Ibara told him. "However he was exposed to radiation more than one sievert...and testified himself that he was showered by 'a strong radiation'."

"It's going to be dangerous from here on out, Pops." Kaige grinned as Ibara took lead. "Maybe you should wait for us to return with your daughter."

"Let's go Kaige!" I called for her with Ibara waiting patiently not too far. Together the three of us quickly disappeared down the street towards the race track.

* * *

_Hospital room..._

"It's alright, just leave it to Ibara-senpai." Aoi said as she tried to keep Yukiko's spirit up. "She is superhuman."

"How old are you two?" Yukiko asked as she watched Taeko fiddle with the radio. "High school...?"

"Yes!" Aoi pointed at herself excitedly. "I am a student of JDF Special Technology school."

"Aoi and I are both 16 years old and first years..." Taeko said, "Senpai herself is 2 years older, a third year, and she's a class rep."

"That sounds difficult for you two...to have such hard work at your age..." Yukiko said sadly, "Your parents must be worried..."

"...We don't have parents." Aoi said slowly after sharing a look with Taeko. "We were born artificially from DNA manipulation..."

"DNA...manipulation...?" Yukiko gasped with shock.

"Do you know the word 'Coppelia'?" Aoi asked her.

"Yes...it's a foreign theater's..." Yukiko said.

"It's a French comedy ballet show. On the second floor of the house of a lonely doll maker, Prof. Coppelius...always sits a girl, named Coppelia, with beautiful eyes, reading books near the window. But the girl...was actually a doll made by the professor." Aoi said as she told her the story.

"Coppelion...the moving doll."

* * *

_Race Course..._

"We're here..." Ibara muttered as we saw the words Tokyo Race Course on a sign above our heads. "Tokyo Race Course..." Running towards the other end we realized that it was a really large stadium.

"There's no way we can search for a little girl at this rate," Kaige said,

""Let's go and search for her." Ibara ordered and we split up in different directions. Transforming quickly I took to the skies to search from above while Kaige and Ibara walked around on foot. While walking around, she noticed a giant pile in the middle of the track ground. Calling for the rest of us, the three of us inched close to take a look.

"Kaige..." I gripped her hand in fright as I realized what that mountain of white was, my heart plummeting directly into my stomach. It was a huge pile of human bodies, their grotesque appearance with hollow eyes called out to us for help.

"It's okay Kaz." She replied as she held me close, keeping her eyes glued on the hideous sight. "They can't harm you anymore."

"So this is the tomb..." Ibara stated in a calm voice, "To keep good hygiene, I guess there's no choice but to do it this way...lot's of people must have died in this city."

"It would seem that your little device isn't really helpful now." Kaige held out the counter which still had a high number on its screen. "Why so much radiation?"

"...I'm not sure if you know this but do you know Strontium 90?" Ibara turned to face us.

"Isn't it one of the radioactive elements that if remained here on earth, its half-value period is 29 years?" I asked.

"It doesn't emit gamma rays but beta, and its wavelength is short right?" Kaige scratched her head, "It's been awhile since I learned this kind of knowledge."

"It can also impersonates calcium. The Strontium-90 disguises itself as calcium, gets inside a human's body and remains in bones or teeth." Ibara explained, "And with these amounts...many beta particles must have gathered."

"But didn't Taeko say that beta rays can be blocked by a sheet of aluminum?" I looked at her in skepticism.

"That's only human-made data." Ibara said, "They said it was impossible that an accident, like the one in Chernobyl, could happen in Tokyo to begin with. Because the reactor had a different structure. But such knowledge was destroyed in just five seconds by an earthquake."

"Human-made data can't be trusted."

"We can only trust our own bodies." Ibara glanced at the pile of bones, "To the atoms that structured those bodies..."

"If...a normal human comes into direct contact with this strong radiation, even with that superior suit.." I took a quick sniff before withdrawing back. "Yuck...it smells bad."

"If a normal human comes into contact then it will cause an acute radioactive disorder, thus instant death." Ibara gritted her teeth in frustration. "We need to find Miku immediately!" Nodding our heads in agreement we continued our search, shouting at the top of our lungs for this child.

"OI! KAZ!" Kaige yelled as I flew off. "Don't fly too far. I'm pretty sure she couldn't have gone past the outer walls."

_I wouldn't think of flying far, _b_esides I have a feeling that a storm is coming soon._ I let out a snort of fear before looking around for the child. Suddenly something flashed not too far away and I looked up to see it crawling across the skies like claws before disappearing. _Waaah! Lightning!_ Squealing I flew back and landed quickly, kicking dust up with my talons.

"Huh?" Kaige looked up when she felt the ground tremble and turned to see me crouched behind her, wings raised over my head. " You are such a big baby sometimes." She groaned with annoyance as I mewled with displeasure. "Well you were always afraid of lightning ever since we were young so I guess it can't be helped. C'mon. We'll look for her together by foot."

"Does anyone else think this is a lost cause?" I asked as I turned back to a human and lumbered after her. "I have this feeling that the child isn't actually here and that we're just going on a wild goose chase."

"I-Ibara-senpai!" Suddenly Aoi's frantic voice yelled from the radio hidden within Ibara's pocket.

"What's wrong Aoi?" The class rep asked as she held the equipment up to her mouth.

"It's Yukiko! She disappeared when I was in the toilet!"

"What?! What about Taeko? Did she see her?"

"S-sorry Senpai." Taeko's voice came in, "I was going to the kitchen to wash my hands and when I came back Aoi was just coming out of the restroom. I'm afraid we don't know where Yukiko-san went."

"The husband led us here..." the gears within Ibara's mind was turning as she tried to piece together clues. "maybe Miku isn't their real child."

"Hang on then!" Kaige swiped the radio as we ran back, "We're on our way!" We saw that Mr. Wolf was licking his bandaged leg in the exact place where we had left him. "You got to be shittin me..."

"That old man's gone too!" I said as I sniffed around. "My nose tells me his scent has faded."

"Let's get back to the hospital!" Ibara ordered.

"I wouldn't put it past them to deceive us like that." Kaige huffed as she tried to get Mr. Wolf to tell her the details. "What a load of crap. And besides maybe Miku-chan is actually an imaginary child to get rid of us nuisances."

"No." Ibara responded, "The girl exists. We need to believe them. How can we rescue them if we don't believe in them?" Not even waiting for a reply, she took off running towards the hospital.

"Tch. She's off and running." Kaige shook her head before turning to me. "Fly Kaz! Let's give the Chief a lift."

"Yeah!" I said happily and changed immediately. Helping Mr. Wolf climb onto my neck, Kaige hopped on after him and I rose into the air, flying towards the hospital. I picked up Ibara along the way, catching the back of her jacket with my teeth. She freaked out for about a minute as the ground disappeared underneath her before turning to give me a thumbs-up as we saw the building in sight.

"Aaaah, what should I do." Aoi fidgeted around outside beside Taeko, gazing up at the sky. "When will the principal's chopper arrive!? Jeez!"

"Look there!" Taeko exclaimed as I started descending, placing Ibara gently on the ground. "They're back!"

"Senpai! Wha...what should we do!?" Aoi asked as and Kaige hopped off my back and I transformed back.

"We should search for Yukiko-san! She couldn't have gotten far!" Ibara said. Going back inside she found spare boots that belonged to Yukiko-san. "Here, remember this smell!" She placed it in front of Mr. Wolf and he sniffed it out of curiosity but looked up ready to lead us. We followed the wolf as he led us down the street, tail wagging back and forth.

"They must've been arguing on whether they should send an SOS signal or not. The husband wanted to search for rescue but the wife resisted and took the daughter hostage." Kaige imagined the scenario as Taeko and Aoi denied it after Yukiko spilled to them her live story.

"I don't care about that. It doesn't matter whether she was a criminal or a psycho!" Ibara said, causing us to look at her. "Saving every single human left in this hell...is our, Coppelion's, sole purpose." Suddenly there was a crackle of thunder and I transformed quickly, covering them with my wing as the rain started to fall. The four of them stared in silence as my wing saved them from being wet while I sat drenched in the liquid, my mane became unruly and sleek.

"Nice reflexes." Kaige gave me a thumbs up. "It's too bad we don't have umbrellas huh?" I snorted and stomped my foot as a response. "Sorry sorry." She smiled, patting my flank "You can dry up when we reach our destination. I might have a spare towel somewhere."

"Damn!" Ibara shouted in worry. "Why did it have to start raining now?"

"This isn't good!" Taeko added, "The smell will be washed away...!"

"Woof!" Mr. Wolf barked, getting our attention, his ears trained forward as he located the scent.

"Oi...is this it?!" Ibara asked.

"Yukiko-san is here...?" Aoi stared in shock, "...This building?" Through the thin veil of silver droplets, the looming structure lit up thanks to the flash of lightning around us. Our eyes widened in surprise because this structure was the first thing that we saw upon our arrival to Tokyo. "This is the leaning hotel from that time."


	4. Chapter 4: Hope

**A/N**: Chapter 4 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Hope**

_Leaning Hotel..._

"Alright!" Ibara shoved a magazine into her gun and heard a satisfying click, "You guys wait here! Kaige! Kaziah! Come with me!"

"Ibara-senpai! It's dangerous!" Taeko and Aoi shouted as Kaige and I ran after our leader. Without the protection of my wing, the rain started to cover them as well. "We don't know when it'll collapse! If the radioactive rain soaks into their suits it'll be too late!"

"There's no time...to waste!" Ibara replied and the three of us disappeared. The hotel was dark with debris around. The lights were all broken and it didn't look like electricity was currently running through the wires.

"Damn it." Ibara stated as we looked at a broken elevator. "The elevators are out of order...no choice but the stairs!"

"Ha! A little rain like that can't put out my parade!" Kaige smirked as she conjured a small fire ball in the palm of her hand. "I'm so excited I can practically feel the fire running through my entire body!"

"Easy for you to say." I grumbled and shook some rain out of my shoes. Taking off my furhat I turned it over and watched with disgust as the water filtered out. "Man, I hate the rain. Everything gets drenched and takes hours to dry. Oh and afterward it starts to smell like wet dog!"

"Naruse Ibara, we're here!" The vice-principal's voice came through the radio just as we proceeded to climb the set of stairs. "The survivor...where's the kid?!"

"We're looking for her at the moment!" Ibara replied, bringing the radio up to her mouth. "Come to the leaning building!" Leaning out of the helicopter, Mishima looked around until he spotted what Ibara was talking about.

"There! Aim for that hotel!" The pilot acknowledged the order and steered the helicopter towards the hotel without a second thought.

"It sounds like they're about to arrive," Ibara told us as we reached the second level. "let's speed up this search."

"Wait!" I reached over and grabbed the device from her pocket, its reading going off the charts as it released that annoying sounds. "Radiation is quite high around here." Peering around the corner I noticed that a picture of an angel hung on the wall, her hands clasped together in a silent prayer. Creeping down the dirty dark hallway, every single hair on our necks were standing on end in warning.

"GO AWAY!" A voice yelled at us and we jumped in fright, turning around to see Yukiko aiming a gun at us. "Come any closer...and I'll shoot! I beg you..." She was shivering and breathing heavily from behind her mask, "Please go away!"

"Where's Miku-chan!?" Ibara asked as she pointed her own gun at the woman. Kaige and I stood by her side, our gaze narrowing dangerously as we prepared ourselves for the worst possible scenario. "If we don't get out of here soon-"

"Th-T-There's no such kid!" Yukiko crowed with delight. "We've been tricking you guys from the beginning! Hahahaha! We tricked you guys pretty good!"

"Hand over the kid." Ibara ordered calmly, her expression stern.

"Aun..." A weak voice spoke and a nearby door opened slowly to reveal a small kid. "tie..."

"Miku-chan!" Yukiko yelled as Miku's breathing got labored, "Don't come out!"

"No!" Ibara exclaimed as she tried to move forward, "The remaining oxygen in her tank is..."

"If you come any closer, I'll kill her!" Yukiko immediately grabbed her niece and pointed the gun to her head. This stopped the president cold and she gritted her teeth in anger. "My cute child...I don't want to lose her again. My husband and I are criminals. Once they've captured us we'll be arrested again..if that happens this girl will be all alone!"

"Even so there's no meaning to hiding in this building!" I tried to reason with her but I realize that what ever we tell her will just go over her head. Ibara already refused to shoot her for fear of have the girl being shot by her own aunt, "Come on, if Ibara-san can give her the vaccine she'll be saved. Hurry and bring Miku-chan over-"

"I told you not to come closer!" Yukiko shrieked as she pressed the tip of the gun against Miku's head. "What exactly are you guys?!"

"C'mon, we're wasting time here!" Kaige growled with irritation. "Let's knock her out and take the girl back with us!"

"No. You can't add anymore fuel to the fire." I snapped urgently. "You'll put us all in danger..."

"Don't you doubt yourself at all?" Yukiko continued, keeping her gaze on Ibara. "Your friend was quietly crying in the bathroom, you know. So pitiful...She's doing her best to act cheerfully while desperately dealing with the hardships. Compared to her...you're like a doll without blood running in your veins!"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?" Kaige roared, flames erupting from her hands. "How dare you...Apologize to her...Now!"

"Kaige! Calm down!" I said as I noticed that Yukiko flinched at my best friend. "You're scaring her!"

"We just want to live in this ruined city. As long as you can secure us food and oxygen, we can do something to..."

"No one can live in this hellhole." Ibara spoke.

"...You don't understand anything." Yukiko said, "Everyone stayed in Tokyo of their own accord! The only people here are those that ran away from human society. Even if this is a prohibited area enshrouded by the ashes of death...we can live here freely!" She pointed her gun at us once more. "So stop interfering already!"

"I don't understand...something as difficult as that!" Ibara sniffed and we all looked to see that she was crying. "I've been trained since I was young for this mission." She used her sleeve to wipe away her tears, "A rescue mission in Tokyo. That's it. I don't know about anything else. It's fine. I'm just a moving doll anyway. But..." She fell to her knees in a failed attempt to stop her tears from falling. "If I'm rejected by you guys as well...I'll lose my reason for living! Please! Let me save that girl!" She bowed her head towards Yukiko. Kaige and I were still shell-shocked, unsure on what to do. "Don't erase...my 18 years..."

"Aun...tie..." Yukiko looked to see Miku struggling to speak. "Together...let's allow her to save us! Everyone together..." Suddenly the ground they were stand on started to break away and the face of the hotel started to collapse.

"Naruse!" Mishima exclaimed as from the helicopter window he witnessed the toppling of the building. When the smoke cleared up, Ibara was barely hanging on as she clasped Yukiko's hand and refused to let go. The woman held Miku in one hand as she tried desperately to hold onto Ibara's hand. Kaige had her own arms wrapped around Ibara's stomach and I had my arms wrapped around hers, digging my heels in to stop us from sliding from the uneven floor.

"Principal...hurry!" Ibara yelled against the wind and rain as the helicopter hovered near the building.

"What're you doing? Get closer!" Mishima yelled at the pilot who replied that the propellers will hit and be damaged. Slowly Ibara was losing her grip on Yukiko's hand and the rain wasn't helping at all.

"Grab this girl's hand!" Yukiko spoke urgently, getting our attention. "Come on...hurry!" She maneuvered slightly so that Miku's arm was reaching towards Ibara. "Don't worry about me. Okay? Save this girl, Ibara-san..."

"Ibara-san! Don't loose your hold cause I got an idea!" Unwrapping my arms from Kaige's waist, I ran towards the open and jumped out of the building.

"Oi! Kaz!" Kaige yelled as she dug her heels in to stop slipping. Seeing the ground rise up to meet me, I shape-shifted and rose back up to the skies, hovering in front of them by flapping my wings.

"Nice!" Ibara smiled as I carefully placed my head underneath Yukiko's body, pushing them back up towards the building. Kaige unwrapped her arms from Ibara and grasped Miku's hand, pulling the girl close to her while Ibara pulled Yukiko to safety. Aoi and Taeko cheered from below as we waited for the storm to pass.

* * *

_After the rain storm..._

The helicopter descended safely on the ground and the crew immediately hopped out to assist the group, bringing out sketchers for the wounded and some equipment to test the radiation in the area. Some of them avoid coming close to me as I just eyed them with curiosity. Kaige leaned against my snout with a nonchalant look on her face but she was actually pretty happy and waved at a couple of them who waved back in response.

"Alright, the amount of radiation isn't out of the ordinary." Ibuse commented as he looked at the monitor on his device, "If it stays like this, we won't even have to change suits. Let's go!"

"Well done you three." Mishima said as the group watched Yukiko and Miku follow a crew member into the back of the helicopter. The girl kept looking back at us as she held onto Yukiko's hand.

"Ahem." Kaige faked a cough.

"Sorry...you five." Mishima corrected himself. "There's no need to be anxious about the kid's condition. We'll head to the hospital soon, just to be on the safe side."

"We'll cover the costs, so..." Ibara spoke as she dried her wet hair with a towel. "please take really good care of her."

"You don't need to be so worried." Mishima patted her shoulder.

"Um...come to think of it, where did that kid's father run off to?" Taeko asked and everyone was on the alert. It never occurred to me that the father was still alive and probably searching for his daughter.

"What?! She has a father?" Mishima asked as Ibara removed the towel from her head.

"We lost track of him near the Tokyo race course, off to the east." She replied, "Let's mount a search and rescue..."

"Vice Principal!" Ibuse shouted and pointed with his finger. "It's a smoke candle!"

"Huh?! What?" We all looked to see a column of smoke rising up into the sky. "About 3 kilometers east of here!"

"Kaz! Hurry!" Kaige roared and jumped onto my back.

"I'm coming too!" Ibara said and Kaige helped pull her up as I beat my wings furiously, flying straight towards the smoke column. Mishima ordered everyone else into the helicopter and followed after us. As the race course came into view, we looked around and I spotted Kawabata laying by the pile of bones, the same pile of bones we first witnessed when we first visited the course, and a small fire was still burning a few feet away from him. Descending quickly, my talons kicked up dust and my riders jumped off and hurried to his side.

"Is it you? My daughter..." came the hoarse whisper and as Ibara turned him over, we gasped in horror. Within his mask there were already blood stains covering the glass. "Mi...Is Miku...? Di...Did you find her for me?"

"Yeah...She's safe." Ibara spoke once she had found her voice.

"Is that right...that's good to hear."

"Hey..." Ibara knelt beside him and tried to help him up. "We'll be lifted out soon! Hang in there..."

"No...it's okay..." He replied weakly as another cough made his body tremble. "Just leave me here..." Slowly he lifted his trembling arm towards the sky. "I'm suffering from acute radiation exposure...I understand what's going to happen. I've seen so many people die from the same condition, after all..."

"We can definitely save you!" Ibara reasoned with him, "There's still time!"

"Please...Don't let my daughter see me like this..." Kawabata wheezed as another cough spased through his body. "It's okay... I guess I'm reaping what I've sown...and here ends my 20 years..."

"Why...How can you be so strong?" Ibara asked, tears threatening trickling down her cheeks. Kaige wrapped her arms around my snout and I crooned against her. "If you die, it's the end of everything!"

"You'll understand someday, too..." Kawabata spoke as he rested his hand against Ibara's wet cheek. "If you have something to protect, there's nothing to fear...no matter whether it's radioactivity, or anything else...Not even death is frightening..." He smiled from beneath his mask, "Truly, as long as I...could see Miku laughing..." Releasing a sigh, he went silent. Rising to her feet Ibara trekked slowly back to us and I waited patiently as they got on. Taking careful steps toward him, I gently nuzzled his suit as a farewell gesture. Taking a step back and beating my wings slowly I rose to the sky, circled the area three times and followed the helicopter back to Tokyo.

* * *

_Back into the city..._

After relying the sad news, Yukiko sat next to the bed where Miku was sleeping with a tissue in her hand. During the entire flight, everyone was solemn and kept silent out of respect for her.

"Thanks for doing everything in your power." She told us as she caressed the child's hair. "I understand how hard it must have been for you but, I'm still happy that I can look after Miku and keep her company."

"We'll make sure Yukiko won't be separated from the child." Mishima said as we took our leave, Aoi decided to say her final words to Miku before joining us. "You have your word." Once Aoi appeared and stood next to us, the helicopter's engine roared to life.

"Ibara-senpai, um..." Aoi approached her as the helicopter headed back to a hospital. "Miku-chan left a message for you."

"Oh..." She turned away, "A complaint?"

"She said thank you and keep doing your best!" Aoi replied as a soft breeze blew around us.

"What's up with that...like a kid's book report..." was the swift reply as she walked away but with a smile on her face. Looking at one another, the rest of us followed her in hopes of finding other survivors.


	5. Chapter 5: Okunitama Shrine

**A/N**: Chapter 5 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Okunitama Shrine**

_Fuchu City..._

"October 3rd, Fuchu City, Nakagawara station." Aoi spoke as she finished taking a couple pictures with her camera. The day was clear with the sun shining above their heads after the recent storm. Since we all decided to take a break, Kaige and I left to find some fresh water and when we returned with our canteens filled, we took a rest underneath the shade. "Whatcha lookin' at, Taeko?" Aoi asked her friend who was silently staring at something that caught her attention.

"That." She replied and pointed with a finger to where Ibara was. The leader of the group had one arm propped up so that her chin was resting in the palm of her hand. Her expression was dazed like as she stared off into space.

"What's the matter with Ibara-senpai?" Aoi asked, lifting her hand to block the sun's rays.

"She's been gazing absently at the city like that since morning." Taeko replied.

"Now that you mention it..." Aoi whispered, "she does tend to space out sometimes."

"She must be under a lot of strain." Taeko said, "Ever since she was chosen as the Coppelion class representative, she's been carrying all the burdens by herself...we've all got the same radiation antibodies...the two of us really need to help Ibara-senpai out more..."

"But, you know...you're doing fine as you are, Taeko." Aoi said as she took a seat on the ground. "What could Aoi possibly do? She's dumb, not physically strong, clumsy, and gets hungry so quickly..." She started to tear up, "If her face wasn't so cute, she'd be suicidal!"

"Don't ramble about stuff like that, Aoi." The two of them looked to see that Ibara had joined them. Kaige and I got up from where we were resting to meet up with them as well. "Break time is over so let's go look for survivors."

"Again?!" Aoi exclaimed with a groan. "But there aren't any left, Senpai! We've been searching all around Fuchu, but there isn't so much as a single person or child! Also, it's hot...and I'm tired...I don't wanna do this anymore!"

"Well if you bothered to rest instead of taking pictures you could've reserved some of your strength." I said lightly.

"Besides, your whiny excuses isn't too pleasant to the ear as well." Kaige mumbled.

"We should probably take more precautions from here on out. There's a high probability that any survivors will be convicts or others deemed unfit for society." Ibara said calmly, "That's why they're going to all the trouble of living in a place like this. As long as they're here, no one will come and bother them...no one besides us, that is."

"The wolf is...coming this way." Taeko said when she noticed the animal approaching us. He padded up expectantly to Taeko, tail wagging slightly. "What's wrong? I told you we needed to stay a little separated because of the way the counter reacts." Looking at him closely she noticed that there was something dangling from his mouth. "Ibara-senpai...he's got something in his mouth!"

"It looks like a car key." Kaige said as we all looked at the object. It had three stars and a couple of stripes. "He must've found it somewhere over there." We looked up to see the animal expectantly waiting for us to follow him.

"Alright...lead on!" Ibara ordered and we followed Mr. Wolf to where he found the key and we ended up in front of looked like an old military base.

"This is..." Kaige spoke as she took a look around. "it looks like a place for prisoners."

"I better call in." Ibara said as she radioed in. "Channel 1, this is Coppelion."

"This is the VP." Mishima's voice replied. "Have you found any survivors?"

"I don't know yet." She replied in honesty. "We're in front of Fuchu prison."

"Fuchu prison?!" Both Mishima and Lt. Ibuse glanced at each other in shock.

"The wolf that Taeko tamed brought us a car key, and then it led us here." Ibara said as she watched the rest of us take a look around. "I think we'll probably find something in here...we're beginning to search now."

"Wait!" Mishima said, stopping us in our tracks, he sounded worried. "Listen up! Among the survivors, there may be some who won't welcome you. Take adequate precautions. They broke out of these walls 20 years ago. It wouldn't be all that strange for some of the convicts to have settled in and think of this as their home."

"Ah, wait!" Taeko suddenly said as the wolf tiptoed in without any orders, his ears pointed forward.

"We're breaking in. If there's anything here, I'll report again." Ibara said before turning off the radio. "Guys, let's go."

"We went to all this effort to come to Tokyo, and we've been to a racecourse and a prison...we're like old gangster men!" Aoi complained. "Let's go to more creative spots! Like a library, or an art museum..."

"Go by yourself." was the stiff reply. Suddenly a barrage of bullets from a machine gun rained down upon us, halting Ibara in her tracks. "Enemy attack! Run away!" She shouted and we all took off back to where we came in. We all dived behind the rock wall as the bullets stopped firing.

"What...is he doing!?" Ibara asked and we saw that the wolf was patiently sitting right out there in the open.

"He'll be shot...run away!" Taeko yelled at him.

"Shh!" Ibara indicated with her finger as movement appeared near the door. "Someone's coming out."S

"If it isn't a survivor, may I torch him to crisps?" Kaige asked, a fireball in hand.

"No. It definitely looks like a survivor." Ibara shook her head as two men in suits stepped out into the light.

"Is he the one who stole the key, Kamata-kun?" One of the masked men asked, holding a pipe in hand like a weapon.

"Yes Doctor." Kamata replied.

"What are those people doing?" Taeko whispered as we watched the man called Doctor petting the wolf with a gloved hand. The other, Kamata stood behind him with a gun in hand.

"Probably looking for this." Ibara held up the key. Squatting, she turned to the rest of us. "Stay here, I'll go and see if I can converse with them."

"They'll probably cooperate since we have what they want." I said with a nod of my head. "Apparently the key is really handy for something that's important to them."

"Don't worry Captain. I got your ass covered with a fireball ready for deployment." Kaige smirked, tossing the object up and down with glee. "Just say the word and I'll throw it. I don't wanna toot my own horn but...I have 100% accuracy when it comes to throwing things. I never miss my mark unless it was intentional."

"Hopefully it wouldn't come to that but thanks a bunch." Giving us a nod, she walked as calmly as she could up to the two survivors who were currently looking inside Mr. Wolf's mouth. Her gun was fully loaded in case she needed it but, within the time frame she had given the VP, taking control in 10 seconds wouldn't require a gun at all.

"What's the key like?" Masashi had asked when she radioed in. "Any distinguishing features?"

"Uh..." Fishing around her pocket, she pulled out the object. "Well...it's attached to a strange keyring. It has a tiger-striped pattern with a mark of three stars in a row."

"What!? Tiger-striped and with three stars...!?" Masashi exclaimed.

"Yes...does that mean something?" Ibara asked after noticing the shift in the VP's voice.

"Naruse..." The VP spoke in an eerily calm voice, "do you think you can take over without injuring anyone?"

"...is that an order?" She asked.

"Make sure to catch them alive. I'll head over as soon as possible."

_Well if worst comes to worst...Kaige can throw her fireball and I'll have to resort to shooting them..._She thought as she got closer. _Let's hope this can be sorted peacefully so that I don't have to have any more deaths on my conscious! _

"Doctor!" Kamata exclaimed when he spotted Ibara approaching them, her hands up to show them that she was weaponless.

"Don't shoot!" She told them.

"Then don't come any closer!" was the response as he turned his gun on her.

"I've got your car key." Ibara said as she stopped walking, knowing how to play her cards right. "If I die, you'll never find it!"

"Sh...She..." Kamata's hand trembled as he stared at her. "She isn't wearing a protective suit! Monster!"

"We're the Third Divison special forces of the ground self-defense force, called Coppelion." Ibara told them. "We have radiation antibodies."

"Radiation...antibodies...!?" Kamata repeated as if he couldn't understand what he just heard.

"We've come to rescue you. The self-defense force helicopters will arrive in 2 or 3 hours."

"Don't call them there!" Kamata raised his gun, "Give me back the key!"

"But...you sent out an SOS, didn't you?" Ibara asked them.

"SOS?" He turned to the Doctor in question. The elderly man released a sigh from within his mask.

"Just as I feared...they must have run out of supplies. It's come to this, all because our distribution was delayed..."

"No way..." Ibara exclaimed as we joined her. "You're the delivery men?! You've been distributing lifesaving materials to the survivors."

"That's correct." The Doctor replied. "Up until last month, I'd been making the rounds on Sunday of each week, however...several times this month, new 'danger zones' have suddenly appeared here in the Tama and Fuchu regions. Thanks to that, we haven't been able to move about."

"Danger Zones?" Kaige thought about it before a thought popped into her head. "You mean those contaminated places with strong radiation?"

"That's correct, it's what we call them."

"Strong radiation...you know they're out there, and you still came this far?" Ibara said as the wind started to blow through their hair.

"It's...my mission." The Doctor said, his eyes downcast. "Please...give me back the key. Without it, we can't open the doors of the delivery truck. Inside the truck, there's clean safe air...if we aren't able to change our oxygen cylinders soon..."

"...understood." Ibara nodded and turned to us. "Please give them the key." After handing it over, the two men scurried back into the building and reappeared with the delivery truck. On the side of the truck were the tiger-striped patter and the three stars. Mr. Wolf sat outside with his tongue lolling out as he waited for the order to move out.

"That was refreshing..." Kaige smiled as she stepped out of the shower with a towel over her head.

"Awww man...first prison clothes and now industrial clothes?" Aoi looked at the shirt she was wearing. Since there were only five of us, the two men managed to find enough uniforms for us. "This is terrible!"

"Well, no need to point it out..." Taeko sighed.

"Radiation antibodies..." We turned to see the Doctor in his uniform. Without his suit he looked a bit different. "I can't believe something like that was actually developed...The progress of science is astounding...after protective clothing, they switched to altering humans. Surely...if they don't do it, people won't be able to live in this city. This world has changed and the people themselves..."

"I'm not sure if you know this but not everyone here has antibodies." I spoke from where Kaige was busy drying my hair with a towel. "Ooooo, Kaige this fells nice."

"Sit still Kaz." She replied, smirking as I nuzzled against her. "There, all dry."

"Are you telling me..." He looked at us with amazement on his face. "that you two aren't like the Coppelions?"

"You could say that." Kaige said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "We're just a bit different but we have some kind of protection against the radiation."

"Umm...would you please tell us who you are? We can't continue to call you Doctor right?"

"I can tell you're pretty familiar with radioactivity. You've provided a lifeline for the survivors here, haven't you? " He held out a couple of ripe red apples for us to see. "These apples were cultivated underground, with a heat panel instead of daylight...try a bite."

"Thanks for the after bath dessert!" Reaching over, Aoi lunged forward and nabbed the fruit out of his hands.

"You're only ever quick at times like this..." Ibara commented as we watched the girl eat nosily.

"Ah...it doesn't have any taste!" Aoi complained as she started to cry. "What's this!?"

"That's the limit of what we can do..." The Doctor said as he held one up in front of his face, casually gazing at it. "We're also raising other things, like livestock and vegetables, but...we can't match the blessings of nature. In the end, it seems life can't thrive anywhere except under the open sky. A counterfeit sun just won't cut it. They're just man-made imitations..."

"You're saying that there are safe areas, like this place, underground? There's a lot of underground facilities in Tokyo, after all." Ibara asked.

"Yes..." Unfurling a map of the city, he pointed at a couple of spots in various areas. "As you get closer to the heart of the city, the number and size of them increases. We're living in the city beneath Shibuya."

"Shibuya!?" Popping up behind Ibara, Aoi looked excited. "You mean, the coolest hangout for teenagers in all of Tokyo? That legendary Shibuya?!"

"Yeah..." The Doctor scratched his cheek with a passive expression on his face. "Well, it's not really that impressive, but..."

"Awesome! Aoi wants to go there!" Aoi said as she clung to Ibara's back.

"Go by yourself!" Ibara snapped as she tried to stop Aoi from wrinkling up her jacket, the girl was clinging to her like a giant kola.

"It's no good, Doctor!" Suddenly the screen on a hanging television snapped to life and Kamata's face appeared. "As I feared, there's no response from her radio."

"This is bad...anyway, we have no option but to look at the shrine."

"Who's over at the shrine?" I asked him.

"Granny Ayame. She was living in the prison basement." The Doctor replied. "There used to be many more old people, but...now they're in the Tokyo racecourse graveyard. Granny Ayame is the only one left."

"She's the last one alive, you mean?" Ibara asked for a clarification.

"No...there's also the Kawabata family...and there's old man Heiji who lives in this region..." The Doctor read from a little journal he has kept that has records of all the residents that used to live in the city. "But...they've all gone missing, their food may have run out."

"We rescued them!" Ibara exclaimed at the sound of familiar names being read out. "The only one left is the old lady. However, Kawabata Mitsuo died but we managed to save his wife and niece."

"It's my fault. I wasn't able to save them.."

"I'm sorry..." Ibara apologized.

"A person's hometown..." the man turned to look at us with such soft eyes an old man could muster. "is their warmest and most comforting place."

"Well let's not feel sorry for ourselves." Kaige said as she patted Ibara's shoulders. "Doctor! Where was the last known location of Granny Ayame?"

"Kamata-kun is going to drive the truck to search at Okunitama shrine." The Doctor pointed at the map once more, "He often went with her to worship there. It's south of this Zelkova tree-lined road just north of the racecourse."

"Ibara-senpai! Everything around that area has been contaminated with very strong radiation!" Taeko said as we remembered what had happened around that area.

"It's a danger zone?!" the Doctor asked.

"No kind of protective gear can guard against that radiation!" Ibara warned him. Grabbing a nearby radio, he hurried to report to Kamata who put the petal to the metal instantly. The truck groaned before roaring to life and took off thundering down the street with Mr. Wolf in tow.

"Perfect! Kaz! Let's ride!"

"Where are we going?" I asked her as I adjusted my hat, which ended up being askew during the journey.

"We're going to search for her from above." Kaige replied as she waited for me. "My radio's on just in case we spot something okay Captain?"

"If you pass that door, make a right and you'll reach the door that leads to the outside of this truck." The Doctor instructed.

"Be safe out there." Ibara told us and we waved her goodbye, disappearing through the door.

"Will they be alright?" the old man asked.

"Don't underestimate them. They are capable of handling themselves out there." Ibara said as they continued to look at the map.

"I see. Then I shouldn't worry too much about those children...what in the world is this powerful radiation?" the old man sat down with a worried look. "It wasn't easy to get this far avoiding the danger zones...something's causing the contamination to spread like that."

"What about the mountain of bones at the racecourse?" Ibara asked him. "There's Strontium 90 gathered there..."

"Well then, where did the Strontium come from? Radioactive material has to come from a source." The Doctor replied calmly. "I guess the thing that's spitting out the strong radiation, must be hidden somewhere around the Tama river. My guess is that it probably has something to do with nuclear power. You see, radioactive nuclides that are this hazardous don't naturally occur. Without a doubt, it was made by human hands."

"You're a quantum mechanical scientist, aren't you?" Ibara asked. "Isn't that why they call you Doctor?"

"...my name is Shiba Denjirou." Shiba confessed. "I went missing 2 years ago during the incident. "I am one of the elite scientist hired by the Metropolitan power company and Mitsuboshi heavy industries. I invented the theory behind the barrier suits 35 years ago. And I..." His voice cracked a bit as his lips trembled to get out the final words, "I was the one...responsible for...designing the Odaiba nuclear power plant. I was its creator." To say that they were surprised was a complete understatement.

"Hey! Captain!" Kaige's voice came in through the radio. "You there?"

"I'm here, what's going on?" Ibara asked just as Kamata stomped on the break, causing the truck to screech to a halt.

"Oww!" Aoi complained after she hit her head on the wall.

""Whoa! What happened?" Ibara asked.

"Kamata-kun, what's happened!?" Shiba asked through a hand-held radio that sent his voice up to the driver. "Why have we stopped?!"

"I-It's no use, Doctor!" Kamata replied. "The Zelkova-lined avenue is contaminated up to the north side...just ahead is a danger zone! Also a giant monster is apparently parked right in front blocking our way."

"That would be Kaz, please don't call her a monster." Kaige's voice floated through the radio. "Now I assume that the counter's reading is shooting up yes?"

"She's right, the counter's rating is going up." Kamata said to confirm the fact.

"It's dangerous for you normal humans to step out of that truck." Kaige continued. "I know what you're about to say Captain so we're ready for us to say the word."

"We'll go by ourselves." Ibara said, giving Taeko and Aoi a look which prompted them to grab their bags. "Wait for us here." Opening the door of the truck slowly, the team stepped out and looked around to get their bearings straight.

"Let's check the map." Shiba called us over. "This is where we are now. The north entrance of the Zelkova-lined street. If you follow the line of trees straight south, Okunitama shrine is here."

"Got it." Ibara said as Kaige and I joined them. Shiba was taken aback by my huge frame but I turned back to my human form so he calmed down a bit.

"I'm giving you this radio." Shiba held out a spare radio set on channel 5. "It's always left on so anytime you need something just talk."

"Okay. Ah! I almost forgot!" Ibara rummaged around her bag until she pulled out her gun. "Hold out your shoulder, please."

"What is this?" Shiba asked as he looked at the jelly looking substance.

"We call it Ether." Ibara said as she placed another bullet into her gun. "It's a cure-all. It's sealed in a protective polymer, so air won't seep in." She administer one to Kamata who flinched at the sound of the weapon going off. "Well, I said it's a cure-all, but it really only protects you from radiation exposure. What's more, if you don't take it within 10 minutes of the exposure, it has no effect."

"Was that the last one?" Kaige frowned before turning towards the two suited men. "So don't expose yourselves too much to the radiation okay?"

" It's like a magical remedy." Shiba said. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it made out of?" Ibara glanced at Taeko and Aoi for a minute before responding in a calm voice.

"That would be...cells extracted from our bodies."

"Cells!?" Me, Kaige, Shiba and Kamata all exclaimed, looking at them in shock.

"The somatic cells of Coppelion...have a special ion exchange structure set into them." Ibara explained as the other two looked downcast at the ground. "The ion exchange structure absorbs the ions of any radioactive material that enters the body and changes it into something harmless. It's kind of like photosynthesis, which absorbs carbon dioxide and spits out oxygen...but the arrangement of the variant genes in our somatic cells doesn't carry to the next generation."

"So, even if you give these ion structures to normal humans...after around a mere 10 minutes, they burn off without taking hold." Taeko added.

"Do the ions also affect the color of your skin?" Shiba asked with sad eyes. "The three of you are very pale in comparison to Kaziah and Kaige."

"If you combine the doll 'Coppelia' and the word 'ion'...it makes 'Coppelion"."


	6. Chapter 6: Intruders

**A/N**: Chapter 6 of_ Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Intruders**

_Outside..._

"Can you really be satisfied with that?" Shiba asked. "Even though you were subjected to cruel live hman experimentation...Isn't that right? Your genes were freely manipulated before you were even born.""

"It didn't matter what you, the subject, thought..." Ibara replied solemnly.

"Why the hell then are you guys so obedient?" Kaige asked, enraged that she wasn't informed of this earlier. "Why are you guys letting yourselves be puppets for the government control?"

"I just wanted...to see Tokyo with my own eyes." Ibara said as she lifted her head to the sky. "If it hadn't been for the nuclear incident in this city...we wouldn't have been born into this world." She turned to look at us, "So...even though it's a place like this, we have a tie to this land. Even though I'd never been here before, when I gaze out over the cityscape, sometimes it feels familiar. Maybe...it's sort of like it's my hometown..."

"Kaige..." I whispered, holding her hand nervously.

"This is definitely unforgivable, the government doing scientific experients on kids." Kaige looked at me, "Sorry. Let's not worry about it too much and focus on the task at hand." She nodded at Ibara and we started to depart.

"Such strong children..." Shiba said softly as we waved goodbye to him. "They accept such a sad reality...but still don't lose their pride. In my case, on the other hand..." He looked down at the ground sadly, contemplating his past decisions throughout the years.

"Naruse, respond!" Suddenly the vice principal's voice spoke through the radio as we continued on our way.

"Yes, Vice principal?" Ibara asked, holding up her hand to stop us.

"How are things over there? Do you have the delivery man in custody?" He asked.

"Huh!?" She looked at the radio in shock, of course the vice principal couldn't see the expression but he could tell from the tone of voice. "You knew about that?"

"Naruse...he's not just a delivery man." The vice principal warned. "Seems he's the architect of the nuclear power plant where the incident occurred 20 years ago. His name is Shiba Denjirou...he's a genius scientist listed on teh register of Mitsuboshi Heavy Industries."

_We already know about that...but this information is really vital._ I kept silent as he continued to speak.

"I'll arrive in a little under 2 hours. Okay? Make sure not to let him escape. He's going to be arrested by our hands."

"...Understood." Ibara replied after thinking about it for a minute. "We'll take him into custody." A click could be heard meaning that the vice-principal had signed off.

"Um...Senpai?" Aoi spoke up as she held up the object Shiba gave to us. "Didn't the doctor say his radio was always on?"

"I heard you. Don't worry, I won't run or hide." Shiba's voice floated through the radio. "I plan to pay for my crime, fair and square. However...rescue of the survivors comes first. I don't care what happens to me."

"Doctor...if you feel responsible for the incident..." Ibara started to say but I cut her off by pointing to a weirdly shaped tree.

"It's warped kind of." I stated as I placed a hand on its trunk. "What a terrible sight."

"Yeah...it absorbed Cesium 137." Shiba explained. "The tree has been bathed in such a high concentration of radiation for so long that it's becoming deformed."

"What exactly is Cesium 137?" Kaige asked.

"Cesium 137...it's a radioactive nuclide with a half-life of 30 years." Taeko said. "It gives off beta rays and gamma rays, and it dissolves easily in water."

"Therefore its taint reaches deep into the ground, and it will continue to contaminate everything in this city for a span of many decades." Ibara added. "It's the hardest kind of radioactive material to get rid of."

"As well informed as I'd expect. Cesium 137 has similar scientific properties to potassium. The trees use potassium to regulate the water in their leaves. The Cesium 137 passes itself off as potassium and gets into the tree." Shiba looked up at the trees surrounding him as he spoke.

"It's almost like the radiation is acting as an imposter." I stated as we continued to walk through the forest of deformed trees. "Acting like a virus..."

"An imposter huh...but thanks to so many trees being tricked like that, they're able to anchor the radiation." Shiba told us. "This colonnade is a symbol of Fuchu and a natural monument of our country. It's said they were planted about a thousand years ago. Back then, who could have imagined that they would ever look like this. They've been made to carry the burden of all mankind's mistakes. Still, the image of these Zelkova trees, on their hands and knees begging to live..."

"Please, someone, save me!" A voice suddenly shouted from the radio, scaring us.

"That was Granny Ayame's voice!" Shiba shouted from his radio. "Granny, where are you!?"

"Help m-" There were a bunch of static noises floating through the lines that kept breaking up her sentences. "-crows! Giant monster crows are-!"

"Monster crows!?" Aoi shuddered and I could see goose bumps running up and down her arms.

"I've run to the art museum! They're surrounding me...Hurry, come rescue me-!" Ayame said before the radio went dead.

"The art museum?" We looked at one another in thought.

"She's probably talking about the Fuchu City art museum!" Shiba said as he unfurled a map he pulled from his coat pocket. "It's to the northeast from where you are now, in a forest!"

"Go on ahead in your truck! We'll join you there soon!" Ibara said as she gestured for us to move out.

"Understood! If you head east from here, there's an entrance onto Tokyo prefectural Route 15 Koganei highway." Shiba hopped into the vehicle as he spoke. "The art museum is just after that!"

"Understood!"

"Chief, it's much better if we fly there!"

"Huh? Woah!" Ibara looked surprised as I grabbed her with my talons, lifting her off the ground. Taeko and Aoi were already seated upon my back with Kaige up front. Beating my wings powerfully we soared through the skies and spotted a sign that said Route 15, the same one that the doctor was telling us.

"The art museum shouldn't be that far now...hmm?" Kaige looked confused for a minute, tapping me on the head so I stopped flying, hovering in the air.

"What's wrong?" Ibara asked, looking up as she put extra rounds of bullets into her gun.

"What's that?" Kaige pointed with her finger and we saw this black shape flying through the air, a bit too far for us to see clearly. "It looks like a bird..." Suddenly there was an explosion and we could feel the shockwaves from the air.

"There's smoke coming from the direction of the art museum!" Taeko said.

"Hurry Kaziah!" Ibara yelled and I complied, changing directions and headed towards the column of smoke.

"There's a flock of crows." Taeko said as we flew past the animals.

"There's a forest coming up ahead!"Kaige announced as the green trees entered our line of vision.

"Alright, we're almost there!" Ibara smiled.

"Ibara-sempai! Look!" Aoi shouted. "The Doctor's delivery truck is…"

"Shit! Take us down now!" Ibara ordered. Once my talons hit the ground, my passengers hurried to the destroyed vehicle. "Doctor! Where are you? Answer me!" She hurried to the front and lifted the hood, covering her nose from teh smoke that came out. "Dr. Shiba!"

"I'm here．．．＂The Doctor's weak voice spoke. "I'm in the cab. Kamata-kun is…"

"Understood! I'm coming to rescue you!" Ibara quickly removed her jacket, wrapping it around her waist, and climbed up onto the truck near the driver's side． "Doctor! Are you okay!"

"Kamata-kun's foot is trapped under the metal." Shiba answered, gesturing to his companion who was trying to get loose.

"Shit...it won't come out!" Kamata gritted his teeth as he tried to pull harder but it wouldn't budge.

"I'm coming down." Ibara lowered herself until she was right beside them.

"Ibara-senpai!" Aoi yelled frantically from the outside. "Quick, get away from the truck! It's leaking gasoline! If you don't get out soon…"

"Forget about me! Save the doctor!" Kamata yelled.

＂Not an option! Kaz, c'mere!" Kaige said and I lumbered over. "You three might want to duck."

"Huh!?" They looked at her before noticing my head looming over them, my mouth wide open to show rows of sharp teeth.

"Just take about half of it off, that should about enough." Kaige said. Lowering my head I gripped into the metal and bit off half of the metal, throwing it aside. The opening was now large enough for me to still my snout in and I lifted the object that held Kamata's leg down. Ibara grabbed Shiba and Kaige grabbed Kamata just before the gasoline reached us. Running as fast as we could I stayed behind and used my body to shield them from the explosion, little bits of metal rained down against my scales.

"Is everyone okay?" Taeko asked as she and Aoi ran up to us, waving the smoke away.

"Thanks, you saved my life." Kamata said before wincing, holding his arm tenderly.

"What happened to your truck?" Aoi asked.

"We don't know..." Dr. Shiba replied. "Kamata-kun and I saw a black shadow behind us, and then there was an explosion…"

"It must be the same shadow we saw not too long ago." Kaige said as I nodded my head in agreement.

"Anyway this truck is finished. We've lost our safe zone." Kamata slammed a fist against the ground with anger.

"The helicopter should be coming soon so just find someplace safe to hide for the time being." Ibara said. "I'm going to look for the old lady. Aoi and Taeko, you two protect the doctor!"

"O-Okay! Be careful." Taeko said.

"Kaziah, Kaige. You two come with me."

"Roger!" I replied with a salute.

"Whatever you say Chief." Kaige said and the three of us continued our search. The trees gave us a decent amount of shade but the silence was killing us. Everything was screaming 'Danger' as we came across a run-down building that could only be the art museum, the lawn strewned with creative objects that have rusted away due to the radiation.

* * *

_Inside the art museum..._

Walking in through the front door, we noticed that the floor was littered with broken glass; they proabably came from the windows being smashed from the explosion. Everything else seemed okay and in place.

"What happened here? It's like a giant typhoon ripped through here just seconds ago." I stated as we looked around.

"Granny Ayame? You here?" Kaige shouted, hearing her voice resonate around the empty structure. "No dice. Try calling her on the radio."

"Already on it." Ibara said, grabbing the radio from her waist buckle. "Granny Ayame! Can you hear me?" Suddenly we heard a static noise coming from the back of the room.

"Ibara look!" I quickly grabbed the radio left lying on teh ground. "It's definitely Granny Ayame's."

"Ibara-senpai!"

"Taeko, what happened!?" We turned around to see the rest of the group on the ground trying to catch their breath. It would seem that they took off running after us. "I told you to wait for me!"

"Look at that!" Taeko pointed out the window and that's when we noticed another flock of crows following a giant black object.

"What's the one freakishly huge bird?!" Ibara asked.

"I don't know, but it's probably...a monster crow!?" Taeko replied.

"What's the status on Ayame!?" Shiba asked once he had enough air in his lungs. Being old and running a lot didn't go well together.

"She's not here but her radio is." I replied, holding it out for him to take.

"What on earth could have..." Shiba muttered to himself as he held the radio in his hands.

"Could it be that she's run off by herself?" Aoi asked. "I mean, she's an escaped convict, too, right?"

"No...Granny Ayame was left behind in an old folk's home 20 years ago, along with many other senior citizens..." Shiba explained.

"Huh? You mean..." Taeko gasped with horror.

"They were abandoned by their families, using the nuclear incident as an excuse. There was nothing they could do but keep living here. If they were protected, it would only cause trouble for their families..." The doctor released a sigh, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't made that nuclear plant...no one would be dealing with such misery." He covered his face with his hands. "How many millions of Tokyo citizens have I killed with these hands..."

"You're a scientist, so keep your head held high!" Ibara spoke after listening to his story. "Everyone wanted electricity...so the scientists and the technicians worked hard to answer that demand. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"But..." Shiba looked at the floor, lost for words.

"I...I love science." Ibara told him. "After all...it's my mother."

"Sorry to cut into this sentimental moment but," I pointed to the skies, "that giant crow thing just changed directions again."

"Wait...I'll check it out now." Taeko removed her glasses and looked out, her eyes honing in on the objective.

"Hey, hey..." Kamata whispered, getting Ibara's attention. "What's she going to do with her glasses off? Can't she see even less?"

"It's actually the opposite." She replied. "Taeko's vision is too good, so she normally surpresses it to about 10% of its ability. Apparently being able to see so much makes her head hurt..."

"What do you mean, 10%!?" Kamata asked, shocked even baffled at what she told him.

"With the genetic manipulation, they built a special ability into each of us." She explained. "My physical capabilities were strengthend. Aoi..." She paused, looking completely lost for a minute. "What was yours again?"

"Aoi's completely useless!" Aoi suddenly wailed, throwing the rest of us off with her crying. "There's absolutely nothing about Aoi that's better than a normal person! ...except for my beautiful cute face."

"Well, that's good isn't it?" Shiba chuckled at her antics.

"Apart from the fact that having a cute and beautiful face isn't going to be much help." Kaige stated before wincing when I elbowed her hard. "What? It's the truth."

"No it's not! Aoi wants to have a special ability, too!" Aoi claimed in response to Dr. Shiba's question.

"Maybe it hasn't fully developed yet?" I mused. "Don't worry Aoi, your special ability will awaken someday." She smiled at me.

"When I look at you girls, I feel relieved." We turned our attention to the doctor. "Though we've lost our way so badly that we've fallen to the bottom of the abyss...even there, beautiful flowers are blooming." We looked out to see the flowers that he was talking about. "It's like they're lighting our path...you five are like that avenue of Zelkova trees. Standing firm on the dead earth..."

"Ibara-senpai!" Taeko spoke after finally analyzing the crow. "I know the monster crow's true form."

"Well done, Taeko! So what is it?" Ibara praised her.

"A B2 stealth aircraft." Taeko replied. "It's a special type of bomber that doesn't show up on radar..."

"A stealth fighter!?" We all gasped at her.

"It looks like parts of it are remodeled, but there's no mistake. I learned about them in military aircraft identification class." Taeko nodded her head in affirmation.

"A military aircraft..." Ibara frowned, "What is something dangerous like that doing in these ruins?"

"I don't know...Ah!" Taeko exclaimed as the craft turned around sharply and started to descend through the clouds. "It's preparing to land and it's turning to the east..."

"But...there's no place they could land in a forest like this, right?" Aoi asked as Taeko put her glasses back on, blinking a couple of times.

"Wait...there is!" Shiba countered as he opened his map. "The Air Self-defense Force Fuchu base is behind us!"

"The Air Self-defense Force...!?" Kaige and I looked at each other in shock as well as in confusion.

"But...do they have that kind of stealth aircraft?" Taeko asked.

"They don't!" The vice principal Onihei Mishima's voice spoke out of Ibara's radio. "Only countries with spare time and money make that kind of expensive junk."

"We don't have either." Ibuse's voice floated in from the background but it was quite faint.

"In other words..." Mishima continued, "That stealth fighter must be invaders from outside our country."

"The years Kaz and I have spent here we've never seen any foreigners." Kaige spoke up. "Why now of all times?"

"And if they're invaders, what do they want from a desolated, destroyed, radioactive place like this?" Ibara added.

"That's what you guys are going to find out, Class representative Naruse Ibara."

"I figured as much..." She sighed before gearing up for her mission. A click from the radio signaled that Mishima had signed off. "Well then, I'm going to check that base out. Wait here for me."

"Ibara-senpai, will you really be alright on your own?" Taeko asked.

"Maybe we should also..." Aoi spoke up as well, a determined look on her face.

"I said as much, didn't I? I have 10 times the motor reflexes of a normal human." Ibara smiled gently at their dejected facial expressions. "If I'm alone, it'll make a lot of things easier to do. I'll be fine, so wait here!"

"If it makes you two feel at ease," Kaige smirked as she went to stand next to Ibara. "I'll go."

"What!? That's unness-"

"Oh look, Chief." Kaige gestured at us. "Your juniors are worried sick about your safety. Let me give them peace of mind by being your backup and bodyguard."

"...thanks Kaige." Ibara said with a grin.

"Okay then." Shiba spoke, getting their attention. "Granny Ayame might be at the base. Please save her."

"We will!" Ibara gave him a thumbs up. "That's why we Coppelions, who journeyed from Osaka, are here to do."

"Don't do anything stupid okay Kaige?" I looked at her expectantly. "Be sure to follow Ibara's orders."

"Yes yes." She replied and smirked. "We'll be back before you know it.


	7. Chapter 7: Monster Crow

**A/N**: Chapter 7 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Monster Crow**

_Air base..._

"Whoa..." Ibara gasped as she spotted an old aircraft parked in the lawn, abandoned and had vines growing all around it and on it. She and Kaige left to scout out the area in search for Granny Ayame while the rest of us stayed behind. "They're not quite like I remember from school..."

"It doesn't look like anyone is here." Kaige said as she tip-toed out into the open.

"Sorry to intrude." Ibara spoke before following after her. At some point, she shed off her jacket and tied it around her waist so that it wouldn't hinder her movement.

"You old hag!" A mysterious man snapped through his helmet, "Come quietly!" He wrestled another person to the hanger of the bomb fighter jet with much resistance. "Get on board!"

"No! I won't! Somebody, save me!" The old lady screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm being kidnapped!"

"You hear that?" Kaige asked and Ibara nodded. The two of them hurried to where the screaming was coming from; they spotted a dark aircraft parked at the base and a couple of people interacting with each other.

"You've seen us, so there's no other way!" The shouting seemed to intensify as they crept closer to the wired fence. "You have to come with us!"

"No! Somebody!" The hostage cried.

"Is it Granny Ayame?!" Ibara said as they watched.

"It would seem so." Kaige replied with a nod. "What's the plan Chief?"

"Hmm...since there's no other choice. Frontal Assault!" Ibara ordered and charged at the jet with her gun drawn, Kaige not too far behind.

"Hurry up, you idiot!" Another voice spoke from within the jet which indicated another person. "If you keep messing around, we'll run out of daylight!"

"In that case, shut up and give me a hand!" The guard yelled as he tried to pull a struggling hostage in.

"Don't move!" Both guards looked in surprise as Ibara ordered, holding her gun up. "Drop your weapons and raise your hands!"

"If you don't comply to her instructions, you will be in for a lot of pain." Kaige added.

"What are they?! They aren't wearing protective clothing!" The person with the number 2 on the helmet yelled at his companion.

"They're monsters!" The other one, a man with the number 1 on the helmet, yelled as he pulled out a gun from one of the compartments and aimed at them. "Fire!"

"Who the hell are you calling a monster, moron!?" Ibara snapped as she dodged the bullets and returned fire with only one hand.

"Shit!" The second one yelped as he and the first one took cover from the returned fire. "I wasn't told there would be such shady people here!"

"That's my line!" Ibara countered as she hid behind the jet's wheel, shoving a new magazine of bullets into her gun.

"Shit...Hello, is this the boss?!" The first men asked as he spoke through a radio. "Yeah, I understand! We've taken care of the goods, we're about ready to head back now."

"The goods?!" Ibara wondered.

"Of course!" The man continued speaking. "We weren't seen by anyone!" There was a pause. "Roger! We're cutting out of here soon!"

"Whoops!" Ibara grunted as she somersaulted out of the way as bullets rained down on her.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The men turned their heads quickly to see the other girl standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, a pissed off expression on her face. "Oh my! How rude of you, you did forget about me didn't you?! Paying a lot more attention to the Chief than me...I'll make you pay." She held out her right hand and conquered a fire ball.

"Holy shit! She spontaneously combusted!" The second soldier yelped as Kaige strode towards him, her body oozing out hot magma which started to burn holes in the ground, fireball still in hand. "She's...She's not human!"

"Enough of this nonsense!" The first soldier quickly aimed his gun at the survivor. "We can't let the old hag live. Die!"

"Eeek!" Granny Ayame squealed when she saw the barrel pointing at her head. "Save me!"

"Taste my fire, scumbag!" Kaige snapped as she threw the fireball at him and he slunk away as the ball exploded in his face, withdrawing the gun before the heat could melt the metal.

"Kaige! Forget about them!" Ibara yelled as she fired her gun, the sound of the jet's engine reached her ears. Abandoning his post, one of the soldiers quickly reached over to get the aircraft running. "Get Granny Ayame out of there!"

"But then I'll miss the fun!"

"Do it now!"

"Okay okay." Turning on her heels, she reached Granny Ayame and hoisted her over her back. "Wrap your arms around me and hang on tight! Hurry!"

"O-Okay!" The old lady said and did as she was told.

"We've wasted enough time here!" The first soldier snapped as he quickly jumped into his seat of the aircraft, the second soldier already buckling up. "Hurry up and launch!"

"Like I'd let you!" Ibara snapped as she darted out from her place by the wheel, firing more bullets.

"Chief! Don't waste your energy!" Kaige roared over the sound of the engine, stopping to look back.

"Shit! The hatch!" Ibara cursed as the opening closed up and the jet started to rise off the ground. "Oh no! Hit the deck!"

"Watch out!" Kaige roared as she placed Ayame on the ground and shielded her with her own body as the heat from the engine was enough to knock them off their feet and the smoke covered the area.

"Dang it!" Ibara growled as she watched the jet soar off into the sky. "They got away..."

"Ibara-senpai!" She turned as soon as her name was called. The screeching of tires caught their attention and Taeko was yelling from the front seat. "We got this '73 jeep moving!"

"Quick, get in!" Aoi added.

"Kaige!" I yelled.

"Ooh! Way to go, Taeko!" Ibara exclaimed.

"Granny Ayame!" The doctor and Kamata yelled simultaneously as I jumped out and tackled Kaige into a hug, nuzzling my face against her chest. "Are you okay!?"

"You bastard!" Ayame shrieked at Shiba. "You're late, delivery man! What the hell have you been doing?!"

"I apologize, it's all my fault." The doctor quickly replied.

"If I could get by on apologies, I wouldn't need Fuchu prison!" Ayame scoffed.

"Well, at least this is settled." Kamata said. "All we've got left to do is wait for the rescue helicopter, Doctor!"

"Kamata-kun...take care of Granny Ayame." Shiba told him before turning to face us. "It's time for us to lend a hand. So...let's go catch that runaway crow."

"They were going to kill a good-nature, delicate old lady like me!" Ayame crowed with anger. "That's definitely proof that they're up to no good!"

"But who on earth would be using such expensive aircraft...?" Taeko asked.

"Or rather, where are they from?" Aoi followed suit.

"We'll just have to ask them ourselves..." Shiba nodded his head in agreement as he hopped into the driver's seat. "...what business they have with this City of Death..."

"But, our opponents are in the air...though Kaziah could also give one of us a lift..." Ibara stated as she looked at the sky. "If we don't have a powerful gun..."

"Ibara-sempai! If this is okay, we brought it from the warehouse..." Aoi spoke up as she held up a heavy looking weapon...actually it looked more like a launcher.

"Oooh! Surface-to-air self-guided missiles!" Ibara's eyes gleamed with happiness. "Perfect! Well done Aoi!"

"Are you ready?" Shiba asked as he kicked the jeep into gear.

"Let's go!" Ibara yelled as she shouldered the giant weapon, Kaige and I quickly jumped into the back seat just as the jeep was pulling out of the parking lot, leaving Kamata and Granny Ayame behind. "Coppelion, mobilize! Let's chase down the monster crow!"

* * *

_In the city..._

"They're headed directly south!" Taeko announced as she followed the aircraft with her heightened eyesight. We were right on the monster crow's tail as it flew over the city. "They're going to go over the Tama River!"

"The guidance system's busted up!" Ibara said after she gave the weapon a once over, checking every little nook and cranny. "Get as close as you can!"

"Do you know how to use that!?" Shiba asked her.

"Yeah I learned all about it in gym class." She replied, holding it over her shoulder with confidence.

"Let's go catch 'em!" Shiba floored the gas petal and the jeep gave a quick jerk before increasing its speed, zooming after the giant aircraft.

"Senpai!" Aoi said quickly, pointing towards the sky. "It did a u-turn!"

"Oh no! Get down!" Ibara yelled and Shiba jerked the steering wheel hard left, causing the jeep to swerve sharply as an explosion occurred behind the car. "Shit! They're circling to shoot us from behind!"

"Eeeek! I hate this! Stop it!" Aoi shrieked as Shiba swerved left and right to avoid the rain of bullets.

"Seems they have the favorable positions..." Shiba growled as he glanced behind at the aircraft. "What should we do!?"

"Turn somewhere!" Ibara shouted. "I bet they'll come after us!"

"Alright...then I'll turn left!" Shiba jerked the steering wheel hard, causing the tires to screech in protest. I felt Kaige's arm around me as she gripped the back of Shiba's seat with the other so that we wouldn't fall out.

"Aah! It's true...they're following right after us!" Aoid said as she spotted the craft closing in.

"What's going on!?" Taeko exclaimed as she also looked behind her seat. "Why are they trying so hard to chase us?"

"It's only natural!" Ibara replied. "They have some 'goods' that they don't want anyone to see ...somewhere in these ruins!"

"God damn it!" Kaige growled as more bullets rained down upon them. "Taste my fireball!" Conjuring up a mid-size ball with her hands she chucked it towards the craft but it fell short and exploded in the street instead. "Shit! They're too high up! Kaz, why couldn't you learn how to breathe fire?!"

"Eeek!" Aoi shrieked as more bullets were fired in retaliation. "Hurry up and do something, Ibara-sempai!"

"Yeah..." Ibara spoke as she took aim with the weapon. "I guess it's all or nothing!" She pulled the trigger and the force knocked her onto her back. "Hit 'em!"

"Hey...that's a missile!" One of the soldiers in the craft spoke as the computer warned them of the approaching object.

"Hmph!" His companion huffed with annoyance. "Such an antique!" Pressing a button on the control stick, the aircraft dropped its own rocket and the two of objects hit each other, causing a huge explosion in the sky.

"Shit! It's not good attacking from the front." Ibara growled. "It just falls prey to the anti-missile system!"

"We also have only one missile left!" Aoi told us as she held up the item.

"Then why don't you try to hit it where it can't detect the missile?" I asked. "Of course maybe Kaige and I could try and knock it off course..."

"That's dangerous!" Kaige lightly hit me across the head with her hand. "I won't allow it!"

"No...that's brilliant..." Ibara said as she looked at me thoughtfully.

"Oi did you hit your head Chief?" Kaige looked at her in shock. "There's no way in hell that I'll-"

"No not the last part." Ibara corrected herself. "I remember...in class when we studied about these aircrafts...they do have a blind spot and we're gonna use it to our advantage!"

"I'm turning!" Shiba announced when an explosion happened in front of the jeep, causing us in the back to ht the seats in front of us. The doctor drove through one of the abandoned clothing stores, plowing through dummies and other clothing accessories which flew into our faces as we got out on the other end. "What a mess!"

"Here they come!" Kaige announced when the roar of the engine reached our ears. "What a persistent bunch of shit heads!"

"Watch out!" Ibara quickly pushed Aoi to the jeep's floor, covering her head as the sound of bullets came at us.

"I will not allow the same thing to happen again! Magma Shield!"

"Kaige!" I screamed as she jumped off the back, slamming her fist into the ground. Magma erupted from below and shielded us from the bullets, melting the objects immediately upon contact.

"Keep going!" She shouted at us as the aircraft just flew over her and continued its pursuit. "Don't look back!"

"No!" I watched as she got smaller and smaller. "We have to go back! I can't leave her behind!"

"We can't do that! She'll catch up on her own so don't worry! Doctor!" Ibara called to Shiba as she loaded the last missile into the launcher. "I'm going to count to three, then I want you to hit the brakes as hard as you can!"

"O-Okay!" He replied shakily as the craft cranked up the power of its engines, closing the distance between us.

"1..." We all braced ourselves as Ibara started counting. "2...3!"

"AAAH!" Everyone, minus Ibara and Kaige, screamed as Shiba slammed his foot on the brakes and the jeep jerked to a halt, almost pitching us forward.

"Right here!" Ibara took aim and fired.

"Make it!" We roared as the missile flew straight and true to the mark, taking out part of the aircraft's wing.

"You did it!" Aoi cheered. "Sempai, you're awesome!"

"The radar's blind spot is directly underneath the aircraft." Ibara said as she watched the aircraft limped through the sky with black smoke trailing behind it. "I learned that from taking my classes seriously...also Kaziah, nice plan."

"Thanks!" I replied.

"Pant...pant...Nice shot...Chief..." We turned to see Kaige running up to us. She gripped the jeep, catching her breath. "Oh jeez...I'm tired. I should get back...into shape..."

"You...Idiot!" She looked up in surprise as I jumped at her, wrapping my arms around her neck. "Don't do that again! If you do...I'll hit you."

"Hmph." She scoffed but smiled no less. "Sorry about that. I promise I won't do it again." I nodded and helped her back into the jeep where she leaned against the wall with a sigh.

"Huh?" Taeko took of her glasses with concern. "Ibara-sempai! They're still running away!"

"It's okay!" Ibara replied with a snap of her fingers. "In their shape, they'll have to land on the Tama river..." Then her voice faltered when something in that direction caught her eye. "What's that...huge smoke stacks!?"

"Oh no! It's the Tama river boat racing grounds!" Shiba exclaimed with worry. "There's a lot of rain water collected there! If they dive in to put out the fire, they can escape intact!"

"Hurry!" Ibara urged him. "Go after them." He complied, kicking the vehicle in high gear and hurried after the damaged aircraft.

"The counter..." Aoi spoke, holding up the machine when its beeping occurred.

"It's no use, stop the jeep." Ibara said and the tires came to a halt. We all looked to see heavy, dense smoke that shielded the danger zone, the cause of the meter to go bonkers.

"Blast...does that mean we'll have to walk on our two feet?" Kaige quipped with a groan, running a hand through her hair. "Shoot...just when I wanted to rest a little longer..."

"The radiation is spreading..." Ibara spoke softly as she gazed out into the heavy smoke. " We don't do anything about it, Tokyo will really become a city of death...No matter how many decades or centuries pass, it will be a forbidden land where people can't tread..."

"Why?" Aoi asked, looking down with a whimper. "Why haven't we made anything any better?"

"That's not true..." Shiba sad, looking at them with a soft smile behind his mask. "You girls are still here. You've really given me courage. Now then, go catch that monster crow. You girls can go through what's ahead."

"Alright...We don't have time to waver..." Ibara announced as Shiba got out so that she could take over the driver's seat. "Let's move forward!"


	8. Chapter 8: Sunset (I)

**A/N**: Chapter 8 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Sunset (I)**

_On the road..._

"I'd just be a burden if I went with you." Shiba told us as he stood back, letting Ibara take over the wheel. "I'm going to head back to base."

"The helicopter will be here in about an hour." Ibara said as she looked at him, resting both hands on the steering wheel. "Just wait for it."

"See you later Professor!" Aoi yelled as we waved goodbye to him and he in turn, lifted his arm in farewell. Meanwhile the giant crow finally crashed into the river. Broken debris and other materialistic goods flowed out of the broken aircraft, littering the lake.

"Damn it!" The soldier with the number 1 on his helmet cursed as he hoisted himself out of the river. "Of all the places to be shot down...!"

"Shut up!" His buddy replied, coughing out some of the water from his lungs. "If I didn't land here, we would have died!"

"Dumbass! The only reason we were even able to make it this far was because of the protective armor of the B-2!"

"What do we do now!?" The soldier with the number 2 on his helmet started to hyperventilate since their suits had cracks in them thanks to the crash. "At this rate we'll get exposed to the radiation! Uwaaa...let's hurry up and get out of here!"

"You really are a dumbass...!"

"Alright! We made it!" The tires screeched to a halt and we jumped out of the jeep, Ibara in the lead with her gun fully loaded. "Stay close to me okay?"

"They're armed right? We should proceed with caution." I warned as we advanced towards the entrance.

"Ha! If anything, we're equally armed and dangerous to boot!" Kaige laughed.

"Ibara-senpai!" Aoi suddenly spoke, covering her nose with one hand and pointed with the other. "O-Over there..."

"Shit..." Ibara cursed when we realized that the bodies of the two soldiers who operated the giant crow lay on the ground with blood coming out of their mouths. "We're too late..."

"They've been exposed to some serious radiation..." Kaige said as she inspected the bodies. "They're as good as dead, if they aren't already."

"Where do you think they were from...?" Taeko asked as Aoi clung to her stating that she hated corpses.

"It seems like whoever employed them didn't know about the severity of the radiation here." Ibara said with a sad expression on her face. Gazing through the helmet she could only see the eyes of the soldier but she knew that he had suffered until the radiation took his life.

"It seems like they were working for someone..." I said as I glanced over their uniforms with a calm expression. "They were probably hired mercenaries." Turning my head to the opening I quickly ran through the opening that opened up to the river. "There it is! The stealth craft is still there!"

"Perfect. Let's go take a look." Ibara gave me a quick glance. "Mind giving us a lift?" Shifting to my wyvern form, I flew towards the half-sunk aircraft with everyone on my back.

"Ibara-senpai! There's something in the water!" Aoi exclaimed when we got close. "It's a bunch of yellow barrels...what are they...?!" I quickly hovered over the water's surface so that we could get a closer look.

"Kaz! There's one floating over there so try to get close to it as possible." Kaige said and I could see one of the barrels on the surface and I flew over to see what it was.

"There's a radioactive symbol on it!" Taeko said, adjusting her glasses. "This is...extremely radioactive nuclear waste!"

"Nu-Nuclear waste...?!" Aoi looked shocked.

"Leftover Uranium-235 from the electric generation in the power plant..." Taeko explained. "It was probably left here so that it could break down into Plutonium and then used again to generate electricity."

"But...After the Plutonium gets used up, the radioactive waste that's left over is even more deadly." Ibara spoke with a grim expression. "That's a canister to hold highly radioactive waste. It's made by solidifying glass and then encasing it in metal..."

"So in other words this is basically a giant dumping ground for all of the harmful waste from the power plant." said Kaige but there wasn't any humor in her voice.

"Waste...but then what's it all doing at the bottom of this lake?" Aoi asked as she looked at all of the barrels submerged in the water. "And there's so much of it too..."

"This explains a lot..." Ibara spoke, the gears in her mind were spinning. "The reason why there's so much radiation around here is because of these barrels. The waste from these barrels is leaking out and causing the radiation to increase."

"But how...who would come here, and how did they manage to get all these barrels here?" Taeko asked.

"Could it be-" Ibara turned to look at the aircraft with interest. "Kaziah, take me closer to that plane." I obeyed her and hovered close to the craft so that she could land safely.

"Be careful Sempai!" Aoi said as Ibara carefully leaned over to peer through the broken window.

"Damn...it's just as we thought!" She announced after a few minutes. "There's barrels inside!"

"Since there's no longer any regulation in this city, people are coming here to drop off their nuclear waste...in those stealth crafts." Taeko said. Pulling out a radio, Ibara quickly relayed information back to the vice principal and awaited for him to contact her back.

"What did you say...?!" Mishima's voice came in over the radio after a few minutes of silence. "Highly radioactive nuclear waste?!"

"Yeah...the people we were chasing here came to dump all of their waste at the lake." Ibara confirmed. "We tried looking for reprocessed Plutonium as well but...there isn't any. It's just nuclear waste. We're looking for clues right now-"

"Ibara-sempai! Look at this!" Aoi said. She leaned over the side of my neck and pulled up one of the many floating debris in the lack. "It looks like a sticker...there's a logo for Yellow Cake on it."

"What?!" The vice principal's voice stated in shock. "Yellow Cake?!"

"Do you know what it is?" Ibara asked when Aoi handed her the object and she looked at the sticker carefully.

"I'm pretty sure...that there was a Japanese back-end company that went by the name 'Yellow Cake'." Mishima said with an edge in his voice. "The reason why it's a back-end company is because it was a company that processed all of the nuclear waste from other nuclear plants."

"Due to the Nuclear Non-Proliferati on Treaty, the government was supposed to handle that processing but...the government wasn't capable of processing it, so it handed the job off to a foreign private company."

"Then...are you saying that company brought all of its waste here?" Ibara asked.

"That's right..." Mishima said with a nod of his head. "It's probably coming from overseas. They're probably getting paid a great deal to dump all of their waste here. That radioactive waste is so highly toxic that there's no safe place to store it."

"So exactly how dangerous is this?" Kaige asked. "Do you how much radiation is released per hour?"

"Assume that the entire lake is covered with these barrels, I assume that they release an average of 1500 sieverts of radiation per hour." said Mishima. "A normal human being would be killed from this radiation in just 20 seconds."

"That's so high...1500 sieverts..." Taeko said as she looked at the counter. "This counter can't even register it."

"But...this waste is made from all of the nuclear plants..." Ibara said. "Isn't it supposed to be buried underground for a few centuries until it's harmless?"

"A few hundred years...who's going to bother with it at that point?" Mishima asked and when he didn't receive an answer he continued. "You guys probably understand that best of all right? This mountain of waste was created from our own greed, and it's our burden to bear..."

"But this much waste is way more than any country can produce by itself...right?" Kaige spoke up from where she sat on my head. "Is that why Tokyo was abandoned? It was because every country was searching for a place to store all of their waste."

"A place to store their waste...you don't mean-" Ibara couldn't finish her sentence as the vice principal confirmed her worst fear.

"If you choose a place that's already been destroyed by radiation...even if you dump more in there, nothing will change. Yellow Cake was probably thinking along those lines, and offered to take everyone's nuclear waste for a high place. They took up all of mankind's burden...and dumped it in Tokyo."

"What are those bastards thinking...!" Ibara suddenly yelled with anger, throwing the sticker back into the lake with frustration. "Just how depraved are those assholes!"

"Ibara-sempai! Calm down!" Taeko's voice floated through with worry.

"Do you want electricity so badly...! That you can just forget about what happened 20 years ago?!" Ibara collapsed on top of the aircraft and banged her fist against it, tears streaming down her face. "Just what the hell...do you think Tokyo is...!"

"Kaz...take us back to shore." Kaige spoke and I nodded my head with agreement. Gently picking Ibara up by the back of her shirt, I slowly flew back to shore and away from the dumping grounds.

"...It's Kamata from Fuchuu base..." Another radio came to life, getting everyone's attention immediately. "I've heard all about it. Is the professor still there?"

"He's still not in the base...!?" Wiping away her tears, Ibara went back to her original self and grabbed the radio.

"Huh...?" Kamata paused to look behind him to see Granny Ayame and Mr. Wolf standing there looking at him. "Ah...I thought for sure he was still with you guys."

"Professor where are you!?" Ibara shouted into the radio, knowing that their radios were in sync. "You can hear me, can't you?! Please answer! Dr. Shiba! Where are you...!"

"Everything that has happened is my fault." His voice finally floated through, sounding full of despair and regret. "I opened a box that was not supposed to be opened...without knowing how to close it."

"No...everyone had a hand in it." Ibara assured him.

"That's right Doctor!" Kamata's voice shouted through. "How can you be expected to shoulder that burden by yourself!?"

"How many times do we have to tell you that, blockhead!" That was Granny Ayame's voice.

"Umm...you shouldn't blame yourself." Taeko's tentative voice followed after hers.

"I guess I should say thanks." Shiba said after listening to their voices. "I've hesitated before, but now I've made up my mind. This time I'll accept the blame for the accident...with the pride of a scientist! Kamata...I'll leave the rest to you."

"P...Professor!?" Kamata said with surprise.

"Goodbye." With that, the radio wave turned off and the doctor cut off all means of communication.

"No way...it looks like he's actually going to go through with it." Aoi said.

"We're going back!" Filled with vigor, Ibara yelled at us to kick it in gear and we all high-tailed it back to the entrance where the vehicle was waiting. "Let's get going! Back to the jeep!"

"What...!? Denjirou Shiba is gone...!?" The vice-principal's voice shouted through the radio.

"We're going after him right now!" Ibara yelled back at him as she floored the gas pedal."We're going to need a helicopter here asap!" She jerked hard on the steering wheel, causing the tires to screech in defiance.

"S...Senpai!" Aoi screamed from the back as she held onto the seat in front to keep from being thrown off. "Are you trying to kill us?!"

"He couldn't have gone far...!" Ibara gripped the steering wheel tightly till her knuckles turned white. "Damn it..! Why does everything have to go wrong?"

"The world is saved..." Taeko spoke softly even though she gazed in front of her in a sad expression. "If Tokyo...if Tokyo is made a sacrifice."

"I'd destroy that kind of world!" Ibara confidently stated. "The past is what made us who we are today. What's waiting ahead of us is the future! As long as there's still time...as long as there is one second before the end, never turn back!"

"...such wise words." Kaige whistled with approval as the rest of us just gazed at the leader with admiration. "That was touching, Chief!"

"We're here!" Ibara used her foot to press the brake and turned the wheel so that the jeep made a complete 360 before stopping. "This is the road where we separated!" We all hopped out of the vehicle and started to yell for the professor.

"Professor! Professor Shiba!" I yelled, gazing around to see if there were any movements that responded to my voice.

"Please come out!" Aoi shouted in another direction.

"No one is blaming you!" Taeko added.

"Shit..." cursed Ibara as she held onto a rusty vehicle license plate, gazing around as the rest of us continued to yell our lungs out. "Does anyone have any idea where he went?"

SHFF- BEEP-

"Over here Kamata! Old Lady Ayame has been saying something strange since earlier!" The sound of the old lady cut across our fruitless search and we all crowded around Ibara as she held the radio in her hand.

"When I was visiting Mr. Okuni..." Ayame spoke. "I once talked to the professor, who worked as a delivery boy at the time. That there is this great Buddah in the open country of Musashi. Where they preach to those on the Ishokujuu road and even gave magical healing and charms." She laughed as she remembered the cherished memory. "And then I told him...that the Buddah looked just like him! Ahaha!"

"Was that of any use to you guys?" Kamata took over as the old woman continued to rattle off her story that only Mr. Wolf was willing to listen to the end.

"What if...he's at the spirit shrine in Okuni..." Taeko asked.

_You three are like the Zelkova Serrata._ Professor Shiba's words floated through Ibara's mind and she could imagine the professor standing right before her with the wind blowing gently behind him. _Standing stern in the dead earth..._

"Get in the jeep!" She finally ordered in a firm voice, getting our attention immediately. "We're going to that shrine!"

"Naruse!" Principal Mishima's voice floated through another radio as the girls hopped in. "The helicopter is scheduled to arrive in 30 minutes!"

"Got it!" Ibara replied, already driving the vehicle as fast as it possibly could. "Please land at the Fuchuu base in Kouji!" Kaige opted for another mode of transportation and so she is currently sitting on my neck as I flapped my wings powerfully and glided smoothly over the jeep; apparently she couldn't handle Ibara's outrageous driving.

"Listen up!" Mishima continued speaking. "Don't let the doctor die by any means! He must be captured alive!"

"Captured alive..." Aoi spoke quietly from the back seat. "What an awful thing to say..."

"There's no choice." Ibara said. "Almost everyone in the Vice-principal's family died in the nuclear accident 20 years ago. His wife, and little daughter. That's why the professor is taking this so hard." She turned to look at the other two girls with sad eyes. "You all heard the rumor in school didn't you?"

"I did, but..." Aoi refused to

"The delivery boy always took me with him to the shrine." Ayame's voice floated through so we all decided to listen to what she wanted to say. "Even when we were climbing stairs, he would always help me. He didn't even complain once. I was already old at the time. I have pity for the boy...He's already done more than enough to redeem himself. I've long since forgiven him."

"Make sure you tell him that yourself." Ibara said with a cheerful smile on her face.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this sentimental moment but...there it is!" Kaige shouted and pointed with an arm. "It's the gateway! We're at the shrine!" The jeep screeched to a halt as I landed right next to them, lowering myself to the ground so that my raider could jump off safely.

"All right...it's not as polluted as I thought here." Ibara concluded after looking around and checking the level of radioactive meter. "If he's wearing his protective suit, he should be all right!"

"Okay!" Kaige said and started to run off. "Kaz and I will go and look on the left side then!"

"Right behind you!" I chirped, running after her and the two of us disappeared off on our search.

"I'll look for a sign in that abandoned building. Aoi, you check the right side and take Taeko with you!" Ibara ordered and we all split off. After wondering around, she came across the main shrine that looks as though it hasn't been visited by a large group of people. "Hmm? I guess it would be good to keep our customs." She approached and clasped her hands together in prayer.

"Isn't it beautiful?" A raspy voice spoke, startling her and gave her goosebumps. "I make sure to take care of it every month..."

"Professor!" Ibara exclaimed, hurrying over to him with relief. "Finally...!" She came to a halt and stared with horror at what she saw.

"What a nice breeze." Dr. Shiba spoke with a smile on his face. "The sun's rays..." He lifted up a hand as if he wanted to physically touch the light source. "...who would have thought they would be so warm...beautiful..."

"Your mask..." Ibara spoke after recovering from her shock. "How long have you had your protective mask off...!?" The old scientist gently picked the mask up and placed it in his lap.

"Just now..." He replied with a sigh. "As I heard your footsteps."

"That means we've only got 10 minutes...! Crap!"

"Senpai...!" Aoi shouted as we ran up to the scene. "Your kidding..."

"What are you doing! Your mask..." Taeko yelled as well.

"I've injected him with Etel!" Ibara spoke, moving the professor and putting one of his arms around her shoulders. "The radiation won't change to being ion penetrating yet!"

"But...that only lasts 10 minutes!" Taeko exclaimed with worry.

"We gotta get to Fuchuu base!" Ibara said as she started to make her way to where the jeep was parked. "Hurry!"

"Kaz can make it there faster than that load of crap!" Kaige said as I morphed into my wyvern form and crouched low with my wings tucked. "Chief! You and the professor ride on her. I'll drive the jeep back with Taeko and Aoi."

"Okay, we'll go with this plan!" Nodding her head with agreement, Ibara made her way to me and climbed on, settling herself comfortably before motioning for Dr. Shiba to climb on. With Kaige and Taeko's help, the three of them managed to adjust Dr. Shiba so that he was laying snug and secured on my back with Ibara right behind him so that he wouldn't fall off.

"He doesn't look too good." Kaige commented as the other two girls rushed towards the jeep, taking note of his pale skin. "Make sure they get there on time okay?" I purred slightly with a nod of my head.

"Thanks Kaige!" Ibara said as I unfurled my wings, slowly rising off the ground with a couple beats. "We'll see you there!"

"God's speed Chief!" Kaige yelled, watching as I turned towards where the base was. With a loud screech I took off, zooming over the treeline with my raiders holding on for dear life. Smiling, Kaige ran towards the jeep and leaped into the driver's seat with the other two girls already in the vehicle. "Let's get going Aoi! Taeko!"


	9. Chapter 9: Sunset (II)

**A/N**: Chapter 9 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Sunset (II)**

_In the sky..._

"Vice Principal...! Come in, Vice Principal!"

"What happened!?" Mishima asked as he held the radio in his hand, listening to the frantic voice of his students. "What's the situation?!"

"Please!" Aoi's voice float through amidst the sound of the jeep roaring in the background. "We need you at the base in 10 minutes...!"

"10 minutes!?" Mishima stared at his lieutenant in horror. "That's a time crunch for sure!"

"The doctor was caught in the radiation!" Aoi explained as quickly as she could. "Ibara-sempai injected him with etel before they flew ahead. It'll probably last 10...no, 9 minutes at most!"

"Where is Naruse now?"

"She's with the doctor." Aoi answered. "She and Kaz-chan are making their way back to the base as we speak!"

"Okay!" Mishima replied before turning his head towards the pilot and barking out the order. "Gun it at full speed!"

Oh crap, his face is getting paler and paler. Ibara thought as she held on tightly to my mane. We've been flying back towards base as fast as I could, my wings beating powerfully against the air currents.

"Do you think he should wear a mask?!" Kaige's voice shouted through her radio to be heard above the winds. They had their radio on to hear any conversation that was happening through the channel. "If he's that pale, it may be dangerous."

"It's the etel!" Ibara replied hastily, holding onto Dr. Shiba tightly so that he didn't fall off my back when I decided to make a sharp bank to the left to avoid a vicious current that came from the front. "There's no point for him to wear the mask!"

"Cesium 137 has already entered my body." The professor spoke softly, his chest rising as he fought for breath. "The radiation will keep eating away at my muscle, bit by bit. Eventually, everything including my cardiac muscles will give out...and then...I'll die."

"Don't talk about it like that." Aoi's tearful voice floated through. She was desperately holding it in as she put up her cheerful facade. "You'll make it in time! Don't talk about dying so casually...!"

"Not yet?! We've only got 7 minutes left!" The vice principal shouted with worry as he looked at the stopwatch in his hand. Beads of sweat rolled down his face with worry. "I refuse to let you go easily like running water! Pilot! Are you there yet?!"

"I see it!" The pilot said as the helicopter flew as fast as it could through the polluted skies. "It's Tokyo! We're almost there!"

"Hold on tight girls!" Kaige said as she slammed her foot on the gas with a grin on her face. The jeep spurred forward and thundered down the silent roads.

"We'll make it!" Taeko said as she hung on tight to the dashboard till her knuckles turned white. "We're at the Kogane Prefecture highway! The base should be over there!"

"Wait!" Aoi screamed just as one of the tires blew, throwing every single passenger to the side. "Arrrgh! We're gonna crash and get smoshed like human pancakes!"

"Tch! The brakes are out!" Kaige swore before unbuckling her seat belt. Wrapping one arm around Aoi and another around Taeko, she jumped out just as the vehicle careened into an abandoned building. They rolled to a stop before looking at the wreckage.

"Hey! What happened?!" Ibara gripped the radio tightly in her hand when she heard a large crash. "Aoi! Taeko! Respond!"

"We're fine! We just got into a little fender bender!" Aoi's voice came through in puffs, no doubt trying to calm herself down. "Keep going! We'll catch up in no time!"

"B...But!"

"Don't worry about us, Chief!" Kaige's voice took over, practically yelling so I could hear since one of my ears swiveled back to catch some words. "Get yer asses to that base and we'll see you guys there! You can count on it!"

"You heard her..." Ibara said and petted my neck with confidence, feeling the muscles ripple underneath the scales as I flew back to the base. "God speed Kaziah."

* * *

_Base..._

"Shit! When are they getting here?!" Kamata said frantically as he looked at his own watch, resisting the urge to pace around. Mr. Wolf barked once before the sound of beating wings reached their ears and he looked up as I touched down, tucking in my wings so my riders could dismount with ease. "Oh...! You've made it! I heard it all on the radio!"

"Carefully now." Ibara said as she hoisted Professor Shiba down to the ground, making a make-shift pillow out of a spare jacket. I shifted back to my human form and waltzed over to see if I could be of any use. "Let's just lay him here since he shouldn't be moved too much."

"Damn it...how could something like this happen to the professor...?" Kamata swore as he appeared by her side, looking at Shiba with a worried expression. "He doesn't look too good..."

"Where's the helicopter?!" Ibara asked him with wide eyes. "I thought the Vice Principal was on his way!"

"Huh...!? It's not here yet!" He looked at her with horror. "You don't think it got lost on the way do you?!"

"WHAT!? IT DIDN'T COME YET!" We looked up to see Kaige running in on the scene with Taeko and Aoi in her arms, nostrils flaring with anger and a huge cloud of smoke behind her for her feet were kicking up dust. When she came to a halt she placed both girls back on their feet and threw her hands up in exasperation. "Damn it! And I ran all the way here for nothing!"

"There's not that much time left!" Taeko said as she looked at her own watch. "It's going by faster and faster!"

"It's out of our hands now..." Ibara concluded as she stared off into the distance, her eyes fixated on the setting sun. "It's up to the vice principal."

"Good job Kaz." Kaige praised as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders, still out of breath but she managed a weak smile. "I knew you could do it."

"He...wasn't your vice principal a victim of the Nuclear power plant explosion?" Shiba asked in a weak voice, his eyes opened just a tiny bit. "That's what I heard...his wife and daughter died...I was the one that killed them." He released a sigh. "If only I could go back 20 years...everything was brighter back then..." He turned his head towards us. "Please...let me die. I would not like to have to face him."

"The vice principal isn't that kind of person." Ibara told him without a hint of doubt in her voice. "He's a minister of self-defense. The job as a minister of self-defense, is to protect the citizens. That's why he's on his way...to help you."

"It's...It's no good..." Taeko said as she held the watch in shaky fingers. "The Ether's effect is...less than 1 minute left!"

"Then he'll be exposed to the radiation! Oh please hurry!" I watched with worry, nervously biting on my nails. Ibara didn't say anything but continued to stare up into the sky. Suddenly a gust of wind picked up and we all tilted our heads to see a helicopter flying above us.

"The vice principal! He came!" Aoi exclaimed happily and threw her arms up into the air. "He came!"

"Naruse!" The door flew open and Mishima appeared with a bag in hand, his face hidden by the mask but we were sure he was as nervous as us. "The ether! Take it!"

"Ibara hurry!" Taeko said as she and Aoi helped Dr. Shiba sit up, the professor was fading in and out of consciousness. The time was 7 seconds. As it began nearing the zero mark, thanks to Ibara's swift movement, she fired the bullet and it hit its mark. When the doctor opened his eyes we all sighed with relief and even Aoi held her thumb up as a 'mission accomplish' signal.

"She...She made it!"

"Horray! The doctor is saved!" Everyone on the helicopter cheered and applauded. "We did it!"

_Well done Naruse, well done._ Mishima wiped his brow and smiled. _Almost gave me a fucking heart attack but you did it! _

"Yeaah!" Kaige pulled me up into a hug and spun me around. "She did it! She actually did it!"

"We did it, Vice Principal!" Lieutenant Ibuse said as the rest of the crew continued to leap for joy. "This cause for a celebration!"

"There's too much left to be done before we can begin to think about celebrate! Alright boys, let's touch down!" Mishima ordered.

"No abnormal readings and the helicopter is about to land. It has a room with a safe air supply inside, so you'll be okay." Taeko spoke as Dr. Shiba closed his eyes with happiness. She then turned to see her leader. "We made it in time somehow!"

"Thank goodness..." Ibara spoke as she sobbed, tears dripping to the ground as she crouched on her hands and knees. "Thank goodness."

"Heh, that's amazing..." Kaige wiped away some tears herself as Aoi and Taeko knelt by their leader with tears in their own eyes. "C'mon Kaz, let's get into that feast too."

"Aye sir!" I chirped and we went to join the three of them and shared their moment of triumph together.

* * *

_After awhile..._

Men in protective suits greeted us as they hopped off the helicopter, giving us either instructions or words of congratulations. However Lady Ayame snapped irritably, noting that she could walk on her own and refused any assistance. The most intense moment was when Mishima and Dr. Shiba met face to face.

I held my breath and I could tell that the others felt the same way. After learning that because of the radioactive plant that Shiba created, Mishima's family had perished. Ibara tightened her grip on the doctor since she was helping him move since she didn't know how badly the Vice-Principal would react. Slowly he lifted his arm, holding it out for the doctor.

"You must be awfully tired...Take my hand, Professor Shiba." He said much to our amazement.

"Thank you..." The doctor teared up and he looked at our smiling faces. "Thank you, everyone..." As he prepared to board he turned to look at us as we stood behind. There's still a lot more that needed to be done, our work was far from over. "Ibara..."

"Yes Professor?" She replied, looking at him with such innocence in her eyes. "What is it?"

"Because of the mistakes made by us adults...you children have had to suffer great sorrow. And despite that...we are going so far as to make you clean up our mess for us." His lips trembled. "Forgive us...for causing the world to become like this."

"That...That sort of thing is too difficult for me to understand." She spoke after a minute of silence. "But...there's one thing I do get and that is..." Raising her arm she looked up at the sky and smiled. "The sky is beautiful again today so I'm not that sad or anything."

"Oho~ You're right." Kaige smiled as well and we all took that moment to stare at the light blue color. It must have been because I had been sheltered for 20 years that I had never seen the skies as blue as they were and that was a blessing.

"Here's a list of the survivors." Mishima handed Ibara an old worn-out notebook before making his way back to the helicopter. "So please do whatever you can to save them...and this beautiful city."

"I will." She answered as the transport vehicle rose high into the air, Lady Ayame waving her arms in goodbye through the open door. Circling around the base a couple of times it departed towards the safe zone and left Tokyo behind.

"Vice Principal...those girls..." Dr. Shiba choked back a sob as he looked out the window. "Those three...they aren't dolls. They're all real people, right? They weren't created to perish in this mess right?"

"Yes, I feel the same way Professor."

"So now it's the five of us again...well six including Mr. Wolf." Aoi said as the sun began to set over the horizon and we were left to walk down the desolate streets once more.

"Hey you know what, I'm having a blast!" Kaige folded her arms behind her head and laughed. "This just might be the best thing to have happened in 20 years!"

"So what's the plan now?" I asked Ibara as she looked at the notebook. She smiled.

"We'll aim for the city center for now. I forgot to request a mobile home but since we're walking it'll be better for our health."

"Or we could hitch a ride..." Aoi commented.

"I actually want to take a look at the scenery." Taeko mirrored Ibara's smile. "It helps add some color to this place and I want to witness it with my own two eyes."

"Well then, let's get going!" Ibara turned on her heels and proceeded to walk off. "If we're lucky we'll find some shelter for the night."

"Ibara before we continue I wanted to say something..." Aoi took a deep breath before continuing. "You've done more than enough. If there's anything I've learned today it's that...you aren't superhuman. Even you need others to help you...when things get tough."

"Huh? Where did this come from?" She asked.

"We are also Coppelion, we might be dead weights and useless but..." Taeko stood shoulder to shoulder with Aoi with a determined look on her face. "We'll do our best to accompany you so you don't have to cry alone."

"We'll always be with you, through the thick and thin." Aoi added. "We will never leave your side even if you tell us no."

"You two..." Ibara gazed at them, her throat tightening with emotion. "Thank you..."

"Aren't you guys forgetting something?" They turned to see us standing off to the side looking unwanted. Kaige had a mild scowl on her face while I just laughed. Mr. Wolf's tail was wagging back and forth. "It's not like we didn't tag along just for fun and games right?"

"How could we forget you all?" Ibara shook her head with a smile. "You've been a great help."

"Yeah and we plan to keep it that way!" The girl smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Kaz and I, we got no reason to go back home."

"So we'll lend you our support until everything is accounted for and put back in order." I added. "After all we're fighting for the same future right? A cleaner future, a future where humans can live here once again. That's the future I hope we can achieve together."

"Then let's make that future come true." Ibara grinned and we began walking side by side, deeper into the danger areas. "Our field trip has only just begun!"


	10. Chapter 10: Ghosts of JGSDF

**A/N**: Chapter 10 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Ghosts of JGSDF**

_Some place inside the city..._

The time was 8:05am, October 4th 2036. We found ourselves some shelter in a rundown school and hunkered down for the night. As Ibara woke from her slumber and ran her hands through her hair I noticed the calendar hanging on the wall, the ink has faded but I could make out the numbers 10 and 2016. Since the meltdown no one had changed it in forever, always a reminder of the terrible tragedy that occurred and turned Tokyo into a radioactive dump.

"Doing this reminds me of school." Aoi commented from where she had her head laying across the wooden desk and stifled a yawn. Taeko had woken up earlier than the rest of us so she went out to scavenge for food, placing the food on another desk before staring out the window. "It's only been 4 days after the rescue operation started...I wanna go back to Osaka soon. I'm so exhausted."

"This is Tokyo and since everything's ready to go we should get going soon. Come on!" Ibara hollered as she tied her jacket around her waist and shouldered her bag.

"Ugh, my shoulder is still stiff." Kaige muttered and rolled her right shoulder a bit. "Laying on the floor wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but...eh, beggars can't be choosers."

"We'll find a better place next time!" I smiled at her.

"The whereabouts of the next survivor..." Ibara flipped through the pages of the notebook with Taeko looking over her shoulder. "With this list of survivors handy we'll be saving them in no time. According to it, our next destination is...Choufu City Jaxa headquarters?"

"Jaxa?" I repeated with confusion, tilting my head to the side. "What does that stand for?"

"Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency..." Taeko replied thoughtfully. "It's a space station, missiles research organization."

"Oh...so it's basically Japan's version of NASA?" Ibara asked.

"NASA?!" Aoi exclaimed with excitement, all signs of fatigue leaving her body. "That's wicked! We can use the rocket launchers right?"

"That's...impossible to achieve in cities..." Taeko frowned, not wanting to rain on the girl's parade.

"But the availability of science facilities and equipment here...should allow survivors to live." Ibara stashed away the notebook and proceeded to walk forward. "Alright then! All aboard to Chofu City!"

* * *

_Tamagawa Speedboat Racecourse..._

High in the sky soared helicopters from the shelter, each one carrying what looked like a rectangular container with the biohazard symbol upon it. Thanks to some extra funding the government equipped them with a removable radioactive resistant hangar. A robotic arm would pick up radioactive material and stuffed them within the hangar, thus saving the men from having to actually stepping on foot in the contaminated areas.

"For now, what we can do is seal off the radioactive waste in the Tamaga speedboat racing course." Vice-principal Mishima spoke through his radio. "The helicopters will be arriving soon from Chufu."

"Go it Vice-principal!" Ibara's voice floated through cheerfully. "We can even see it from here."

"Shelters will be left in Tokyo until the survivors are found. From now on the radiation leakage should stop so don't worry." Mishima instructed, ignoring Ibuse's chatter in the background as he talked with the pilot. "I'll be in Nagoya due to another case and leave the survivors to you girls. "

"Yes sir, we'll get right on it." There was a moment of pause before Ibara's voice came over, "How's the professor doing by the way?"

"Ah, right now we are asking some questions. Once we had completed that, we'll try asking some questions."

"Well...if that's the case, please take your time."

"Naruse..." The vice-principal took a deep breath before continuing, "Thank you for saving Professor Shiba. I may have made a mistake about him. So I'm no longer mourning on the past and instead I'm gonna face the future head on!"

"Roger that, Principal!" Ibara signed off and signaled for us to continue on our way. The winds brought in the stench of radiation but we trudged onward. Some of the road signs were covered with plants or rust due to exposure to the terrible air condition.

"Senpai..."

"It's not the time for lunch yet, Aoi." Ibara told her, suppressing a sigh. "Hold out a little longer."

"That's not it...I'm worried what will happen after we enter the metropolitan..." The girl looked up at one of the road signs with a thoughtful expression. "Like, this and, other radiation warning signs surrounding the areas...I wonder who managed to put them up?"

"I assume they were put up at least 20 years ago." Kaige spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest. "You know after the fall out accident by the government but of course, neither Kaz nor myself know for sure since we've been out of line for a long time."

"It's a mystery...there wasn't enough time for this these to happen." Ibara explained.

"You know...it seems like a territory marker..." Aoi turned to us after thinking about it. "Hey...like what animals do you know? To say things like, 'This is our territory' of some sorts..."

"By the way are we even close to Jaxa yet?" I asked out of the blue, folding my hands behind my head. "Not that I'm complaining about the walking but it really does a number on the feet."

"From where we are, there's a highway and the Hitoumichidoro intersection..." Ibara pulled out a map and began to read it, using a finger to trace a path. "Then we will reach Jaxa...wait a minute..." Lowering the map she noticed some weird tracks along the ground. She knelt down and gently ran her fingers over it. "Seems like one of those heavy construction vehicle...a bulldozer perhaps?"

"Ibara, over there!" Aoi spoke up and pointed with a shaky finger. Near a small hill seemed to be a large object lying on the road on its side, the wheels turned over and pointed up towards the sky. "A rolled over car! It looks like an ambulance! And there seems to be smoke coming out of it!"

"The survivors!"

"Oh no...! Oh no...! This is bad!" Taeko gasped as we all started running. "Who knows what we'll find!"

"Uhhhhh..." A weak groan came out from the front. At first we thought it was something on the wind but it came again a little louder. "Uuuuhhhhhhhhh...!"

"You, in the front seat!" Ibara shouted as she latched onto the front door, prepared to open it up. "Are you alright?! I'm going to get you out now!"

"I'm still alright..." A voice, sounded like a male's, replied. He sounded like he was currently crushed by something from the dashboard "Before that...my daughter is in the back seat! It's unlocked and she's wearing a protective suit..."

"Kaz! Lend me a hand!" Kaige shouted and pointed to the back of the truck. "Rip it open!" Transforming into my wyvern form I gripped the flimsy material and tore it from the hinges. Peering in I found another person on her back with a swollen belly. I locked eyes with the woman and she let out a strangled cry, no doubt afraid so I pulled back.

_Ummm...she's pregnant._ I spoke through telepathy, scooting over for the others to take a look.

"WHAT?! PREGNANT?!" Kaige snapped as the others stared in shock. "Well what are we waiting for! Taeko! Where's that thing you guys use?!"

"Oh right! The Ether..." Rummaging around in her bag the medic to be quickly knelt beside the woman and proceeded to inject the medicine in. "Oh good, this should do the trick."

"Naruse! Come in Naruse!"

"In this kind of moment..." Ibara growled and whipped out her radio. "What the hell is it Principal?!"

"Report has just got in! Someone shot down one of the helicopters!"

"Shot down...by who?!" Ibara gasped. The military was already low on helicopters so shooting one down could prove fatal to anymore rescue missions.

"I don't understand but the members who managed to retreat reported so! And the high level radioactive waste shelter container...all of them were taken away!"

"Impossible!" Ibara snapped once she heard the news. "Why would someone do that?!"

"Moving the three shelters should require quite a manpower!" Mishima's grave voice continued. "That means they must still not be so far from here! I've got a mission for you all, locate the culprits immediately!"

"Are you shitting me?!" Kaige roared into the radio, multiple tick marks appearing on her forehead. "We got another problem on our hands! Go and find those containers yourself!"

"It's coming..." A feeble voice came through the daughter's helmet, taking their attention off the radio. "It's coming..."

"Eh...? What is!?" Ibara asked with worry.

"Please tell me the babies aren't what's coming...no offense." Kaige said sheepishly. "I mean, babies are welcoming..."

"Beware...this place..." The daughter's breathing was becoming ragged. She was fighting to keep conscious as sweat rolled down her face. "The ghost of the self-defense force is here..."

"The self-defense force..."

"Ghost?!" Aoi paled at the term. Suddenly a noise from outside caught our attention. It sounded like something heavy like a military tank. "W-W-What's that?"

"The First division has arrived." The woman's voice answered, recognizing the familiar noise and her brows furrowed."They're our enemies...They were the ones who attacked us."

"Umm...I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news now but," I peeked in, already back in my human form but with a look of worry on my face. "it looks like they're ready to blow us up with that tank."

"Then Taeko, lend me a hand after I fire this smoke bomb!" Ibara stood up, loading her gun at a rapid pace and pointed it at the approaching threat. "We'll use the smoke bomb as well as this ambulance as a cover. Let's move!"


	11. Chapter 11: Perilous Flight

**A/N**: Chapter 11 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Perilous Flight**

_Side of the road..._

Ibara fired the smoke bomb, the material exploding upon contact and limited the enemy's range of vision with a dense cloud of smoke. Putting her gun back in its holster she helped Taeko with moving the pregnant daughter. Suddenly the raining of bullets from a machine gun reached their ears and they could only hope that the ambulance's thick body shielded them from the projectiles. One of the bullets narrowly hit Aoi as she hit the ground and she looked up to see the bullet embedding itself into the wall with a scared expression.

"Go go go! Keep running!" The class representative yelled at the top of her voice, urging the others to move forward. "Don't look back or falter! It's all over if we're caught!"

"Please wait...my dad is still in the ambulance!" The daughter said breathlessly as she was held between Ibara and Taeko. "I can't leave him!"

"Shit I forgot!"

"Captain, you and Taeko continue, Kaz and I will go and get him!" Kaige turned on her heels and ran back to the vehicle with me not so far behind. We took cover and waiting for the bullets to stop before breaking the window shield. Reaching in, Kaige grabbed the protective suit and threw the man out.

"Ouch!" He yelped when his back hit the concrete roughly. "My back!"

"Sorry!" She apologized, ducking when a bullet came too close for comfort.

"Kaige you see that?" I directed her attention to the underside of the ambulance's belly. I knew that the pipes still harbored gasoline within them and with my sharp gaze I noticed one that had a small crack through it. "You can cause a huge explosion with just a spark.

"Perfect!" She ruffled my hair with a smile. Stooping down she hefted the man over her shoulder and grinned. "Lets get going and put distance between us and them."

"We wouldn't want to be caught in the blast right?" I replied.

"Found them!" A soldier popped out, watching us run away. His voice attracted a couple more soldiers and they all trained their guns at our backs. "Fire at once!"

" Good bye fuckers!" Kaige threw a fireball from the palm of her hand and it blew the ambulance up, throwing the soldiers back.

"Hoooo~ New candidates from the Ministry of defense?" The captain of the First Division spoke calmly, watching the wall of flames roar in front of him. "Sees like after 20 years, they have yet to learn something...although examining those new specimen...makes my blood boil with excitement."

"Urgh! We barely...barely managed to escape that!" Taeko huffed, leaning with her hands on her knees. We all ran to the abandoned park and took a quick rest. "I don't know if my feet can keep going."

"But that is still better than nothing right?" Ibara questioned.

"What the hell are those soldiers!" Aoi screeched, looking at her leader with a scowl. "Why didn't you listen to me, I told you that something's wrong to begin with!"

"Um...uh...come here, I want to listen..." Ibara stated with a sigh, knowing full well that Aoi's probably gonna complain.

"It's freaking weird okay!" The cry baby shouted, waving her arms up and down dramatically. "It's getting much worst as we go on so how in the world can you be acting so calm?!"

"That's...the first division..." The man we rescued told us as he made sure that his daughter was okay. "20 years ago, from time to time, a figure appeared just like a ghost...but, they had never do done us any harm, until now..."

"Why are they attacking us...?" His daughter asked tiredly.

"Your stomach...is the baby, okay?" Taeko asked as she looked at the girl with concern.

"Oh, thank you for saving my life!" She sat up with a smile. "I'm Kajii Ibuki. That's my father, Gojirou. We know about you guys since the professor told us yesterday that you would be coming." She laid back down so she wasn't putting pressure on her stomach. "The Coppelion...finally came to Tokyo to save us...however we never expected two new comers. You don't seem to be Coppelions...?"

"You're right, we aren't necessary Coppelions." Kaige said, wrapping an arm over my shoulders. "We lived just on the outskirts of Tokyo but we've been effected by the radiation. That dragon from earlier? That was Kaz."

"So the radiation messed with your molecules..." Gojirou spoke with awe, watching Kaige juggle a couple of fireballs before making her body leak liquid fire. "Remarkable..."

"I guess you could say that." She laughed as she stopped showing off and her body returned to normal. "It was hard to control when I first learned but I'm pretty good now."

"I'm gonna call the vice-principal and tell him what had happened." Ibara announced and held the equipment close to her mouth. "Vice-Principal? It's Naruse."

* * *

_Nagoya..._

"What...?! The first division..." Mishima all but spat the words into the radio with shock. "You've actually seen them?! The ghosts of the Self-defense Force..."

"We saw them, we saw them with our own eyes!" Aoi's shrill voice came through the radio. "This is beyond any possible comprehension! Come and save us now!"

"The first division..." The vice-principal murmured over and over, just to makes sure he wasn't hearing things. At that moment his lieutenant Ibuse came in and noticed the disturbed expression on his face. "They were supposedly annihilated from 20 years ago...why the hell are they still here?"

"What happened back then?" Ibuse asked out of curiosity, folding his arms over his chest. "Back when Tokyo became a 'dead' city."

"Since the nuclear fall out, the city fell into a state of immense panic. The sea of people fleeing from the metropolis had paralyzed all transportation. The victims were irradiated by the nuclear fall out whilst they were immobile." Mishima released a sigh, wiping his brow before continuing, "They are 'the survivors', the group of people who thought like that appeared. If they were to take refuge and wait inside the safety zone of Tokyo, the government would come to rescue them."

"But...no one came to their rescue did they?"

"You're absolutely correct...no matter how long they waited, help never came. It was because the self-defense force that was dispatched to the rescue also suffered severe radiation."

"So that's...the first division?" Ibara's voice floated in. She had stayed quiet listening to the vice-principal rattle off the history.

"They are the central self-defense force that protects the metropolitan area. The government broke off the rescue activities concerning additional usage of its personnel." Mishima informed her. "And with that...Tokyo was barricaded with high lead walls."

"Then what about these people..." asked Ibara as she looked at the two survivors we had rescued.

"The country abandoned them...it was natural for the survivors to hate us." The vice-principal said before issuing commands. "If...the first division were imprisoned in Tokyo for 20 years...Evacuate to a safe place immediately Naruse. We will prepare a rescue helicopter."

* * *

_Back in Tokyo..._

Turning the volume of the radio down Ibara pocketed it and gestured for the rest of us to start moving out. She stayed by Ibuki's side, the mother to be was struggling just to move. Aoi was next followed by Taeko. Kaige and I took up the rear since we can provide cover if needed.

"Damn it...they're here already?!" The class representative gritted her teeth with nervousness, peeking her head out from behind the bushes. "They sure move fast for a couple of ghosts!"

"Here's the way to Jaxa...so keep your voices down." Gojirou said, crawling on hands and knees and took the lead. "With any luck we'll manage to get past them without being seen."

"Hiccup!" Aoi suddenly let out a loud noise, slapping both arms over her mouth in fright. Ibuki herself started to complain about labor pains. The sudden ruckus of panic alerted one of the soldiers who pointed us out, getting his comrades to his side. "Hiccup!"

"Shit! We got spotted! Run!" Ibara shouted and we all picked up the pace.

"Annihilate!" The soldier pointed his gun at our backs, keeping a steady control with a finger on the trigger. "I'll kill you all!"

"Get a taste of my fireball, ya son of a bitch!" Kaige yelled with confidence, arm cocked back with the intent to throw the already made ball. However something from the side of her field of vision came in and knocked the soldier to the side. With the screeching of tires and mid-sized armored vehicle skidded to a halt, knocking over fences and other misplaced items. The hatch popped open and a man came out, scanning the area with sharp eyes.

"I have come for you, Ibuki!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, taking a seat on top of the armored vehicle before grinning from within his helmet. "Get the hell in here!"


	12. Chapter 12: The Prime Minister Arrives!

**A/N**: Chapter 12 of _Crimson Wing_. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my OCs. Coppelion belongs to the rightful owner.

Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Prime Minister Arrives!**

_In the park..._

"The cavalry's here for ya, Ibuki!"

"Foreman!" Ibuki replied when the man hopped from the armored car, guns blazing. She was on her back with Ibara putting her body over hers to protect her should the bullets start flying. "Glad to see you!"

"Who's that?" Aoi asked to which Gojirou replied that Foreman was one of the survivors. "Good! We're finally saved!"

"Quit yer yappin' and get in!" The man shouted as he provided cover, firing rounds after rounds of bullets to keep the soldiers at bay. "Ghosts ain't gonna wait fer ya!"

"Okay! Everyone in the car!" Ibara ordered, gently helping Ibuki to her feet. "We'll make it through this together!"

"Eat this! Ghosts of the god damn division!" Grabbing onto the hose that extended from the armored vehicle, Foreman twisted the nozzle and a rush of water escaped, blasting into the unsuspecting soldiers. "Gahahahaha! I'll send ya swimmin' inta Tokyo Bay!"

"Hurry! We'll be surrounded!" The class representative swung the door open and ushered the rest of us in. "And we don't want that to happen!"

"Take your time...be careful..." Taeko said encouragingly as Ibuki took small steps towards the car. She stayed behind and allowed the pregnant woman walk ahead of her. "I'm here if you need me..."

"Taeko, watch out!" Ibara turned just as a ghost opened fire, his gun trained on the Coppelion's back. Thinking quickly she dove to the side, protecting Ibuki in the process. "Phew! Nice going Taeko!"

"Water's out! What's takin' ya?!" Foreman noted and put the hose back. Whirling around he produced a handgun and fired single shots. "How'd about that?!"

"I'll provide cover! Kaz you get in quick!" Kaige stepped out, hurling fireballs one after the other as Ibara helped Ibuki in. Taeko was already seated and helped with the rest. Once she noted that Ibara jumped in she followed suit and squeezed right up next to me.

"It's a tight fit, how come you wouldn't let me fly?" I asked her, puffing my cheeks out in a pout. "I can definitely out fly them any day of the week!"

"Because they'd shoot you right out of the sky if you aren't careful. Also it'd be a waste of energy if you decide to fight them." She replied as Ibara got a head count and announced that everyone was in.

"Floor it, Gennai!" Foreman yelled and the driver, an old man in the protective suit saluted back in response.

"Just leave t' me!" With wheels screeching the armored car shot off, leaving a huge cloud of dust behind it as well as the soldiers.

"Everyone alright?" Ibara asked after everyone had caught their breath. "It was rough but we made it..."

"Aoi's never felt better." Aoi replied although her hands were raised to her head.

"...gravely wounded, I see. Taeko?" When she didn't get a response she noticed the girl hunched over, gripping a wound in her side that was bleeding. "Taeko!"

"Is she injured?!" I asked, smelling the iron blood immediately. "Then we have to tend to it quickly!"

"We're still a little far from our base!" Foreman replied. "The best we can hope for is to tend to her wounds now and stop the bleeding! That way she'll be okay once we get the right medical supplies!"

* * *

_Nagoya..._

"Vice-principal..." Ibuse whispered as he and Mishima plodded along the station, nervously glancing at the guard who saluted them. "We're JGSDF...not security guards, right? Isn't guarding this 'Kyoto Conference' outside of our job description? Like is Japan seriously that low on guards...?"

"It's the Prime Minister's orders." Mishima replied after thinking about his answer, giving his lieutenant a stern glance. "If you object, you can turn in your resignation, Ibuse."

"Aha, there you are, Mishima!" A boisterous voice called out to them.

"Guh..." _Speak of the devil..._ Ibuse sighed as the Prime Minister himself walked up to greet them. Behind him were two more men, one who looked like a body guard and the other who looked like a scientist.

"Hard at work, I'm sure! Well, I've come all the way from Kyoto, just for you!"

"Who the heck's this old midget?" Ibuse commented.

"Midget?!" The shorter of the two spoke with rage, glaring at him through the mask he wore upon his head. "I'll have you know I'm the most powerful old man in Japan!"

"The most powerf...wait a sec, is he...?" Seeing that Mishima already had a hand in salute, Ibuse realized his mistake and tried to correct himself. "H-His Excellency, the Prime Minister?!"

"Too late now huh funny guy?!"

"Excuse me, Prime Minister Natsume, but...the air here is exceedingly clean. There's no need to wear a breathing mask." Mishima said to which the Prime Minister noted that they were in a hospital. "It's practically safe I assure you."

"Regardless, we're rather close to Tokyo...if by any chance there's..."

"Nagoya is not contaminated." Mishima repeated firmly, knowing he is talking to the Prim Minister but he knew harsh words had to be said. "And if you're concerned about radiation, a breathing mask alone is meaningless. One must wear a thick steel hazmat suit with an oxygen tank."

"I know!" Natsume replied with a huff. Turning on his heels he added, "Let's continue this conversation in my limousine! Congratulations are in order!"

"So he's not gonna take it off?" asked Ibuse.

"His Excellency knows nothing about radiation..." The scientist answered, adjusting his glasses wearily as he proceeded to follow the Prime Minister. "...much like most of our citizens." When the men all left the station and piled into the car the Prime Minister removed the mask and had the look of an elated child.

"You have my thanks for that perilous footage! It's been a great boon to me!"

"Oh...You mean the video of Daiba Nuclear Power Plant that was broadcast on TV?" Mishima said as if a light-bulb went off in his head. "I clean forgot about it."

"Oh yes, that secret live footage was a splendid surprise!" He chuckled before holding out a cup decorated with a biohazard symbol. "I want my coffee in this, an ecocup, made from recycled nuclear waste! Photo op, Ougai! Post it on the blog later, will you?!"

"Of course, your Excellency." Ougai replied, snapping pictures with the camera. "Don't worry too much, I'll get it done immediately."

"Now then, a toast to victory!" Natsume turned his attention back to his guests. "We can use this to send those pro-nuclear power fools to their graves! What fun that'll be! My approval ratings went through the roof after that broadcast! And do you know why?"

_Please don't say what I think you'd say..._Mishima kept his lips tight and awaited the answer. _Please don't say it, please don't say it..._

"Exactly what you're thinking...Because my party has always pushed a stance against nuclear power!" Natsume lit a cigarette and held it between his teeth. "After seeing the appalling state of that nuclear plant, the voters swung over to our side! It's just what I'd planned – as they say, a picture's worth a thousand words! Wahaha!"

_He's insane...that old man..._Ibuse thought, getting tired of hearing his cynical laughter. _Who the hell allowed him to run for office...?_

"I can relax now! As long as I stand against nuclear power, my rating's guaranteed!" Natsume giggled with glee, the cup in his hand was trembling with happiness. "Tomorrow, the Kyoto Conference will finally begin...Leaders from all over the world will meet in our capital!" He stood up and boasted, "This is the perfect opportunity for me to appeal to the whole world to do away with their nuclear weapons and their nuclear power plants! The speech is already written!"

"We're counting on you, your Excellency! We have our hands full with this recession...We gotta get some wind back in our sails!" Ibuse spoke up before looking at Mishima. "Oh- that's perfect! How about pushing wind power? Sounds good, right, Vice-principal?"

"Wind Power eh...?" Sitting down Natsume rubbed his chin in thought. "We could level Shikoku, turn the entire island into a wind farm..."

"By the way, how are those dolls coming around?" Ougai asked, getting a nasty reaction from his guests.

"Oh yeah! Those new weapons! Coppepan!"

"It's Coppelion, your Excellency." Mishima tried to hide the bite in his voice back, calmly correcting the Prime Minister. "The operation is progressing smoothly –"

"Vice-Principal, come in! Taeko's been shot!" Ibara's voice came in through the radio at that moment, cutting him off.

"Smoothly you say?" Ougai questioned, taking a sip from his cup. "Sounds not so good now does it?"

"Tch...I'm here Naruse." Mishima responded, ignoring Ougai's quip. "How serious is Taeko Nomura's condition?"

"Well her life's not in any danger...but...even with our regeneration abilities...she'll need at least a week of rest. And if we have to run from those guys again..."

" 'Those guys'...you're referring to the First division?"

_CRASH!_

"Your Excellency?!" Ibuse spoke when the man sat ram-rod stiff like he had seen a ghost. "Your ecocup..."

"Did you say...the...the First Division?!" He stammered. "You're not...not joking are you?"

"Vice-Principal. Could you take Taeko and the survivors to Nagoya?" Ibara asked.

"I understand. I'll arrange—"

"Hold it!" Natsume cut in with a scowl on his face. "That won't fly! Obliterating the enemy should take priority!"

"What...?!" Both Ibuse and Mishima looked at him with confused looks.

* * *

_Back in the field..._

"Wait a...who the hell was that?!" Ibara spat when she heard the orders. She hadn't realized that there was more than just the vice-principal listening in on the other line. "We're not soldiers! We're an evacuation team!"

"I'm the most powerful man in Japan! I'm your Prime Minister! You work for me!" Natsume's voice rang out loud and clear through the radio. "You've been promoted to soldier, so be grateful!"

"Your Excellency...three of them are Coppelion and two others are unknown...they can't possibly be able to-"

"I don't give a crap if you're the Prime Minister or whatever, you're askin' for the impossible, y'moron!" Ibara cut in, overriding Mishima's words. "There are still many people who need our help. They've all...They've all been waiting 20 years for us to come to Tokyo! Japan may have abandoned them, but I'll bring them all back! This is a job only we can do!"

"Have it your way, you foolish girl!" Natsume retorted. "But here's your government's decree! Annihilate the First division! Or you won't get a single helicopter for your survivors!"

"Why you...!"

"Hey, old man." Kaige swiped the radio from Ibara's hand, holding it up against her mouth. "If the government is so powerful then why in the hell didn't you take into account that there'd be survivors? After that nuclear meltdown, people still looked towards you for guidance and instead you abandoned them. Some dumbass you must be."

"D-D-Dumbass..."

"I don't work for the Coppelions, I've been living in the radiation all my life." Kaige continued, ignoring the growing rage within the Prime Minister. "But, as long as I continue to live I'll dedicate my life to help those who were thrown away. So you can place all your stupid conditions but we'll destroy the First Division and once that's all done then you'll send the helicopters."

"Hmph! Say what you will, it's all just bark with no bite!" came the counter. "I want to see actions and not just some empty words flying out of your mouth!"

"Is that so? Alright then, if you don't send the helicopters after we do our job..." Kaige's voice got eerily scary, causing all of our hairs to rise up as she made her threat. "I'll come for you. I will find you. And I can't wait to burn your very flesh with my own two hands."

"Y-Y-You wouldn't...!"

"Just try me." With that Kaige shut off the radio and handed it back to Ibara who placed it in her jacket pocket. "Well now, at least we know our objective. So let's do our best and continue moving forward."


End file.
